M1$5BA66'5 

RweST  POINT  RO/AANCe 

BY  CLARK  LOUISA  BVJRNHAM 


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HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO. 
BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


MISS   BAGG'S  SECRETARY 


point  Romance 


BY 


CLARA   LOUISE   BURNHAM 


BOSTON    AND    NEW    YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 
s,  CambnD0e 


Copyright,  1892, 
Br  CLARA  LOUISE  BURNHAM. 

AU  rights  reserved. 


The  Kivertide  Prett,  Cambridge,  Maa.,  TJ.  S.  A. 
Klectrotyped  and  Friiited  by  U.  U.  Uoughton  &  Co. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAOB 

I.  OLIVE  CARLYLE 1 

II.  THE  FAMILY  DINNER-PARTY      ....        19 

m.  LYDIA  BAGO 32 

IV.  Miss  BAGG'S  FIRST  PROPOSAL    ....        44 

V.  Miss  BAGO'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL     ....    54 

VI.  THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING        ...        68 

VII.  MOTHER  AND  SON 88 

VIII.  Miss  BAGG  is  TRANSPLANTED     ....      108 

IX.   Miss  CARLYLE'S  CONSTITUTIONAL  ....  130 

X.  MRS.  CARLYLE  MAKES  A  FRIEND       .        .        .      141 

XL  A  BROKEN  IDOL 158 

•      XII.    OLIVE   MEETS   THE  JUDGE      .....         175 

XIII.  MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE 189 

XIV.  MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT        ....      202 
XV.   WEST  POINT 218 

XVI.  THE  REVIEW 238 

XVII.  OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS 262 

XVIII.  THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP       .....      285 

XIX.  MR.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF   .        .        .  307 

XX.  A  NEW  ARRIVAL 328 

XXI.  OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES         .....  347 

XXII.  MRS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION        ....      363 

XXIII.  KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN      ......  385 

XXIV.  HOME  AGAIN  409 


2200635 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OLIVE   CARLYLE. 

NEAR  the  north  window  in  the  back  parlor  of 
a  house  in  New  York  a  girl  of  about  nineteen  sat 
before  an  easel.  The  sheet  spread  beneath  her 
chair  was  well  littered  with  blackened  bread-crumbs, 
and  her  brow  was  puckered  anxiously  as  she  paused, 
the  hand  holding  her  stump  poised  in  air  and  her 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  nearly  finished  crayon  portrait 
before  her. 

As  she  sat  thus,  the  faded  portiere  which  con- 
cealed this  room  from  the  front  parlor  parted,  and 
there  entered  a  thin-faced  woman,  bonneted  and 
shawled,  whose  gray  eyes  shone  pleasantly  behind 
steel-bowed  spectacles.  She  smiled  at  sight  of  the 
girl,  and  because  she  smiled  that  dingy  back  room 
was  a  pleasant  place  to  be  in. 

"  Your  forehead,  Olive,"  she  said  wamingly. 
"  You  are  frowning  again." 

"  Never  mind  my  forehead,  mother.  Come  and 
tell  me  what  is  the  matter  with  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Wheeler's." 


2  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  came  forward,  unpinning  her  gray 
shawl,  which  she  threw  back,  while  she  stood  be- 
hind her  daughter's  chair,  then  rested  her  hands  on 
the  girl's  shoulders  and  silently  inspected  her  work. 

"  It  does  look  a  little  one-sided,"  she  remarked 
meditatively,  after  a  minute. 

"  I  wish  people  would  n't  be  bumpy"  exclaimed 
the  perplexed  artist  ruefully.  "  He  is  bumpy. 
I  '11  leave  it  to  you  if  he  is  n't  in  the  original," 
and  she  lifted  the  photograph,  protected  from  her 
smutty  fingers  by  being  incased  in  a  large  envel- 
ope, the  front  of  which  had  been  cut  away  to 
expose  the  pictured  face. 

"  He  has  a  fine  phrenological  development  cer- 
tainly, but  isn't  that  rather  an  extra  bump  you 
have  given  him  near  the  left  temple  ?  " 

The  girl  dropped  her  bright  head  back  until  it 
rested  against  her  mother. 

"That  I  did  from  memory,"  she  answered.  "It  is 
an  annex  which  he  has  recently  thrown  out  to  meet 
the  demand  upon  his  brain  of  the  new  missionary 
movement  in  Siam.  I  noticed  it  last  Sunday." 

Her  mother  laughed,  and  began  to  remove  her 
bonnet.  "  It  is  very  good,  child,"  she  said.  "  You 
have  a  decided  gift  for  getting  likenesses." 

Olive  nodded  wisely.  "  It  does  n't  do  to  be 
too  exact,"  she  answered.  "  Remember  Cousin 
Jotham." 

"  Do  you  think  the  truthfulness  of  his  portrait 
was  accountable  for  his  ungraciousness  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Carlyle,  glad  to  see  that  her  daughter  was 


OLIVE  CAELYLE.  3 

willing  to  refer  to  what  for  a  year  had  been  too 
sore  a  subject  to  touch. 

"  It  was  partly  the  truth  to  nature  of  his  crabbed 
expression  and  his  network  of  wrinkles,  and  partly 
the  fact  that  I  undertook  the  experiment  without 
your  approval.  I  learned  my  lesson.  It  made  an 
exemplary  daughter  of  me." 

She  began  with  her  pencil  to  make  careful  lines 
in  the  beard  on  the  crayoned  face,  and  Mrs.  Carlyle 
sat  down  with  some  sewing  at  the  other  window. 

"  The  idea,"  continued  Olive,  "  of  choosing  Cou- 
sin Jotham  to  try  my  'prentice  hand  upon,  and 
then  daring  to  send  him  the  result.  Upon  my 
word,  looking  at  it  from  one  standpoint,  I  take 
some  pride  in  my  temerity.  It  is  a  wonder  he 
did  not  inclose  dynamite  with  the  portrait  when 
he  returned  it ;  but  how  it  did  break  my  poor  lit- 
tle heart  at  the  time  !  Dynamite  could  hardly 
have  done  more  damage." 

"  I  suppose  you  thought  you  were  doing  a  shrewd 
stroke  of  business,"  observed  her  mother. 

"  Oh,  I  was  sure  of  it.  I  expected  Cousin  Jo- 
tham to  be  touched  and  delighted  with  my  gift, 
and  to  advertise  me  among  all  his  wealthy  friends. 
Now  if  I  had  had  the  sense  to  send  the  old  gentle- 
man Max's  portrait  instead  of  his  own,  and  the 
picture  had  chanced  to  arrive  at  a  moment  when 
Cousin  Jotham  was  not  in  one  of  his  periodical 
rages  with  his  protege,  that  might  have  done  some 
good." 

"I  have  not  seen  a  picture  of  Max  since  he 


4  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

became  a  man,"  remarked  Mrs.  Carlyle  placidly, 
"  but  it  would  be  a  real  pleasure  for  an  artist  to 
copy  his  face." 

Olive  smiled.  "  Then  you  do  not  consider  the 
lieutenant  too  handsome.  Some  people  do." 

"  No.  It  is  one  of  my  little  theories  that  when 
the  world  is  in  order  people  will  all  be  beautiful, 
as  they  will  be  virtuous  and  happy." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  sent  a  glance  through  her  specta- 
cles at  her  daughter  as  she  spoke.  She  had  an 
artist's  feeling  for  all  harmony  and  loveliness. 
What  statuary,  rare  pictures  and  costly  flowers  are 
in  more  favored  mansions,  her  only  child's  beauty 
was  to  Mrs.  Carlyle  in  her  shabby  surroundings,  and 
as  a  luxurious  gift  straight  from  the  hand  of  her 
Heavenly  Father  she  had  taken  it,  seeing  no  terror 
or  temptation  therein.  Perhaps  it  was  this  theory 
of  hers  that  beauty  should  be  the  rule  and  lack  of 
symmetry  the  exception  which  had  made  it  possi- 
ble that  so  extremely  pretty  a  girl  as  Olive  Car- 
lyle should  have  so  little  vanity.  Her  mother  had 
always  treated  her  good  looks  as  being  like  her 
good  health,  —  no  more  than  should  be  expected. 

"  Those  periodical  rages  of  Cousin  Jotham's  with 
Maxwell  ceased  long  ago,"  continued  Mrs.  Carlyle, 
going  on  with  her  work.  "  It  seemed  to  be  the  be- 
ginning of  his  permanent  satisfaction  with  the  boy 
when  Max  succeeded  in  entering  the  academy  at 
West  Point." 

"  Yes ;  that  was  such  an  economical  way  for 
Cousin  Jothani  to  educate  him,"  suggested  Olive. 


OLIVE  CARLYLE.  5 

"  No,  no,  my  dear.  I  am  convinced  that  money 
did  not  enter  into  his  calculations  in  that  instance. 
Cousin  Jotham  believed  in  the  training  and  the 
course  of  study  there.  Max's  mother  talked  to  me 
about  it." 

Olive  smiled  a  little  scornfully.  "  Oh,  yes, 
Cousin  Elinor  liked  the  idea  of  having  her  sou  an 
army  officer." 

"  Of  course  she  did.  She  and  Ida  Fuller  have 
had  a  fine  visit  with  him  this  summer  at  his  post. 
They  enjoyed  all  sorts  of  lively  military  doings.  I 
was  glad  to  find  Ida  was  beginning  to  have  the 
heart  to  be  gay  again.  Poor  child  !  " 

"  Well,  really,  mother,  in  the  few  times  I  have 
met  Ida  since  she  came  to  live  with  Cousin  Elinor 
I  have  not  perceived  that  she  was  a  candidate  for 
sympathy." 

"  Oh,  my  dear,"  —  Mrs.  Carlyle  shook  her  head, 
—  "  you  will  learn  in  time  not  to  judge  by  ap- 
pearances. It  is  but  two  years  since  her  hus- 
band's suicide.  No  doubt  she  often  carries  a  sad 
heart  under  that  bright  exterior.  We  do  not  see 
enough  of  her  to  judge." 

"  No,"  returned  Olive.  "  We  do  not  see  enough 
of  her  nor  of  any  of  the  rest  of  our  relatives  to  be 
able  to  judge  of  them.  They  are  distant  relations 
with  a  vengeance.  They  would  be  utter  strangers 
if  it  were  not  for  Cousin  Jotham's  pride  in  his  pet. 
I  imagine  family  parties  are  not  much  to  Max's 
taste,  either.  I  think  they  bore  him." 

"  All  the  more  good-natured  of  him  to  wear  his 


6  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

uniform  on  those  occasions  and  let  his  civilian  rel- 
atives admire,"  replied  Mrs.  Carlyle  tranquilly. 

"  And  how  promptly  the  family  falls  apart  when 
the  magnet  is  withdrawn,"  remarked  Olive,  work- 
ing on  busily.  "The  only  time  Cousin  Jotham 
ever  troubles  himself  to  pick  up  the  loose  ends  is 
when  he  wants  to  show  off  Max.  I  believe  the 

0 

first  gathering  of  grown-ups  I  ever  attended  in  my 
life  was  six  or  seven  years  ago,  when  Max  was  at 
home  from  West  Point  on  his  vacation.  How  grand 
Cousin  Jotham's  big  parlors  looked  to  me  that 
night !  I  had  not  yet  entered  my  teens,  but  I  felt 
that  this  was  a  fine  debut  into  society,  and  that 
henceforward  all  Fifth  Avenue  was  open  to  me." 
The  girl  laughed  softly,  and  her  pencil  brought  out 
more  distinctly  the  high  light  in  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Wheeler's  left  eye.  "  After  that,  no  more  high 
life  for  the  poor  relations  until  Max  graduated, 
when  we  were  all  asked  to  inspect  the  new-fledged 
lieutenant  and  tender  our  congratulations.  Since 
then,  let  me  see :  I  think  we  have  seen  Cousin 
Jotham's  old  brocade  hangings  and  young  officer 
twice,  relapsing  after  each  orgy  into  Twenty-fourth 
Street  seclusion.  I  wonder  when  the  magnet  will 
collect  the  scattered  particles  of  the  family  again  ? 
Probably  as  soon  as  the  government  considers  that 
the  country's  safety  will  not  be  endangered  by  a 
leave  of  absence  from  his  post  of  Lieutenant  Max- 
well Van  Kirk  of  the  — th  cavalry !  "  And  Olive 
laughed  softly  at  her  own  folly.  "  But  I  have  n't 
asked  you  what  your  adventures  were  down-town 


OLIVE  CARLYLE.  1 

to-day.  Whom  did  you  give  your  sprig  of  rose- 
geranium  to  ?  " 

"  The  palest  little  girl  in  Macy's.     She  liked  it." 

"  I  dare  say  she  liked  it,  but,"  —  plaintively,  — 
"  I  do  wish,  mother  dear,  you  would  n't  take  greens 
with  you  whenever  you  sally  forth.  It  looks  queer 
and  countrified  to  go  around  in  the  cars  as  you  do 
with  your  little  bouquets." 

"  Countrified  !  Oh,  bless  you  for  the  compli- 
ment, my  child.  I  dream  dreams  sometimes  of 
living  in  the  country,  Olive." 

The  girl  shook  her  head.  "  If  you  felt  as  I  do 
about  it,  you  would  prefer  even  West  Twenty-fourth 
Street." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  breathed  an  unconscious  sigh.  "  I 
could  n't  leave  my  girls,  of  course,"  she  replied. 

"  Speaking  of  the  girls,"  said  Olive,  "  the  last 
time  they  were  here  you  committed  even  a  worse 
sin  than  carrying  greens.  As  I  was  just  saying, 
we  have  never  benefited  greatly  by  relatives,  and 
why  should  you  have  such  a  craving  for  hunting 
up  new  ones  ?  At  all  events,  please  don't  find  any 
among  those  shop-girls." 

"  Olive  Carlyle !  "  Her  mother  looked  and  spoke 
genuine  disappointment. 

"  I  am  willing  to  have  them  here  as  often  as  you 
like,  and  I  will  play  for  them  to  sing  '  There  's 
Music  in  the  Air,'  and  play  games  with  them  and 
read  to  them,"  said  Olive  firmly,  her  face  looking 
childishly  flushed  above  the  large  blue  calico  apron 
that  enveloped  her,  "  but  I  do  not  care  to  discover 
any  cousins  among  them." 


8  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Cousins !  "  Mrs.  Carlyle  still  sat  with  her 
hands  in  her  lap  and  her  deep-set,  beautiful  gray 
eyes  gazing  at  the  mutinous  face  before  the  easel. 
"They  are  your  sisters,  everyone,"  she  said,  slowly, 
"  and  if  you  do  not  love  them  and  yearn  over  them, 
what  have  I  been  doing  all  these  years  ?  " 

"  It  is  n't  because  they  are  shop-girls,  mother," 
replied  the  girl  plaintively.  "  I  am  nearly  as  poor 
as  they  are  and  may  be  glad  to  be  a  shop-girl  yet 
myself,  but  they  are  boisterous  just  as  soon  as  they 
feel  at  home,  and  they  have  n't  clean  hands,  and 
their  bangs  cover  their  eyebrows,  —  I  mean  the  kind 
of  shop-girl  that  you  always  invite  to  come  here." 

"  Yes,  the  kind  that  needs  to  come  here,"  said 
Mrs.  Carlyle,  apparently  recovering  her  calm,  and 
proceeding  with  her  work.  "  I  am  never  so  glad 
that  our  carpets  are  faded  and  the  furniture  old 
and  rubbed  as  when  I  see  how  quickly  the  girls  feel 
at  home  with  us ;  and  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  plea- 
sures I  can  imagine,  to  see  them  enjoying  themselves 
so  much  and  so  innocently." 

Olive  looked  across  at  the  transparent  face  with 
its  unconscious  half-smile. 

"  Don't  worry  about  your  own  little  inner  re- 
bellious feelings,  daughter,"  continued  the  elder 
woman,  "  they  belong  to  your  youth ;  every  year 
you  will  look  deeper  and  deeper  into  these  things. 
Did  n't  you  notice  the  other  evening  that  little 
Ellen  Lanyard  had  combed  her  hair  back  and  tried 
as  well  as  she  could  with  her  straight  locks  to  ar- 
range it  like  yours  ?  Despise  not  the  day  of  small 


OLIVE  CABLYLE.  9 

things,"  added  Mrs.  Carlyle,  with  her  transforming 
smile.  "  The  lifting  up  of  that  heavy  bang  may 
mean  the  lifting  up  of  something  more  important 
within." 

Olive  gave  a  low  groan  as  she  resumed  her 
crayoning.  "  How  does  it  feel  to  be  an  angel, 
mother  ?  "  she  asked. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  was  too  accustomed  to  her  daugh- 
ter's rebound  from  resentful  protest  to  filial  adora- 
tion to  do  more  than  smile  at  this  familiar  question. 
"  I  saw  Cousin  Elinor  and  Ida  Fuller  driving  in 
a  coupe  as  I  was  coming  home  in  a  car,"  she  re- 
marked, after  a  little  pause. 

"  Did  they  see  you  ?  "  inquired  Olive  quickly. 

"No.  It  is  a  good  while  since  I  have  spoken 
with  Elinor.  She  is  doubtless  very  busy  with  her 
social  duties.  She  does  not  need  us." 

"  Well,"  said  the  girl,  with  a  sigh,  "  lots  of  peo- 
ple do.  They  are  not  exactly  the  sort  of  people 
to  help  one  into  society,  but  still  there  are  lots  of 
them,  the  lame  and  the  halt  and  the  blind,  men- 
tally, morally,  and  physically ;  and  they  each  want 
a  little  piece  of  my  mother,  and,  worse  than  that, 
they  get  it."  She  pushed  her  chair  back.  "  I  must 
make  myself  presentable,  for  some  of  the  con- 
gregation may  come  this  afternoon  to  sit  on  Mr. 
Wheeler's  picture.  They  really  ought  to  give  me 
a  duplicate  order,  so  as  to  present  Mrs.  Wheeler 
with  a  portrait  at  Christmas." 

Olive  rose  and  went  to  a  little  closet,  where  she 
slipped  off  the  enveloping  apron  and  washed  her 


10  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

face  and  hands.  In  a  few  minutes  she  reappeared, 
metamorphosed.  As  she  stepped  forth  clothed  in 
a  clinging  cashmere  dress,  she  seemed  to  prove  the 
theory  held  by  certain  artistic  souls  that  only  the 
young  and  beautiful  should  wear  black.  Her  fine, 
smooth  skin  and  youthful  tints,  her  large,  express- 
ive blue  eyes,  her  well-carried  head,  with  its  yel- 
low-brown, waving  hair,  were  well  set  off  by  the 
simple  gown,  exactly  fitting  the  round,  pliant  figure. 
Her  firm,  light  step  seemed  fit  to  fall  on  velvet  or 
on  smooth-shaven  terraces  where  peacocks  glitter. 
All  the  accompaniments  of  wealth  suggested  them- 
selves to  the  imagination  at  sight  of  her,  but  she  had 
lived  too  busy  and  useful  a  life  often  to  sigh  for 
them  in  day-dreams,  and  when  the  thought  of  un- 
attainable riches  did  present  itself,  it  was  naturally 
in  connection  with  the  work  her  mother  managed  to 
do  for  young  women  ;  a  work  for  which  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle's  only  equipment  was  her  own  great  heart  and 
clever  brain.  Their  recent  talk  had  brought  up 
this  idea  of  money  in  the  girl's  mind. 

"  If  Max  does  prove  to  be  Cousin  Jotham's  heir, 
as  his  mother  and  everybody  expects  he  will  be,  do 
you  think  he  will  be  likely  to  be  generous  ?  Won't 
he  perhaps  give  you  some  money  for  your  work  ?  " 
she  asked,  as  she  moved  the  easel  and  began  to 
gather  up  the  sheet  containing  the  crumbled  bread. 

"  I  do  not  know,  of  course,  whether  my  work 
will  require  money.  It  evidently  has  not  needed 
it  as  yet." 

"  It  has  not  had  it,  certainly." 


OLIVE  CARLYLE.  11 

"  The  same  thing." 

"  Oh,  mother,  how  can  you  be  sure  ?  " 

"  Does  it  seem  to  you  a  wonderful  thing  to  be- 
lieve that  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  could  send 
me  money  if  He  wanted  me  to  use  it  ?  It  is  such 
a  simple  truth." 

"  Somehow  I  forget  from  time  to  time,"  replied 
Olive  meekly. 

When  her  mother  said  such  things  they  always 
seemed  for  the  moment  perfectly  clear  in  the  light 
of  her  translucent  certainty. 

"  So  did  I  at  your  age,"  replied  Mrs.  Carlyle. 
"  In  fact,  I  forgot  nearly  all  the  time." 

"  Then  I  suppose  I  shall  receive  the  order  for 
another  picture  of  Mr.  Wheeler,  if  it  is  best,"  re- 
marked the  girl  half-discontentedly. 

"  Certainly.  Just  as  surely  as  that  two  and  two 
make  four." 

The  door-bell  suddenly  sent  a  peal  through  the 
house.  "  There  are  the  arbiters  of  my  fate,  prob- 
ably, now,"  said  Olive,  placing  the  easel  in  a  favor- 
able position.  She  left  the  room  and  hastened  to 
open  the  front  door.  So  full  was  her  mind  of  the 
committee  she  expected  to  see  that  she  gave  a  little 
involuntary  start  at  sight  of  the  two  ladies  in  full 
calling  costume  who  were  waiting  on  the  upper 
step. 

"  Well,  Olive,  glad  to  find  you  at  home,"  said 
the  elder. 

"  I  have  come  to  scold  you,  Olive,"  added  the 
younger,  smiling  and  shaking  her  head. 


12  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

To  their  simultaneous  greeting  the  girl  mur- 
mured a  welcome,  and,  kissing  the  cheeks  they 
offered,  ushered  the  visitors  into  the  house.  Then 
she  stepped  into  the  back  room.  "  Cousin  Elinor 
and  Ida  Fuller,"  she  announced  distinctly  to  her 
mother,  who  immediately  followed  her  into  the 
parlor. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  a  large,  imposing  woman,  with 
prominent  brown  eyes  and  large  white  teeth,  came 
forward  in  black  silk  and  jet  to  receive  her  hostess' 
cordial  welcome,  permeating  the  air  with  an  odor 
of  white  rose  as  she  moved. 

"  Oh,  you  two  unsociable  creatures,"  she  said,  in 
a  tone  as  penetrating  as  her  favorite  scent.  "  See 
how  you  make  me  come  after  you,  although  you 
know  how  busy  I  am,  —  driven  almost  to  death." 

"  Yes,"  added  Mrs.  Fuller,  a  slender,  graceful 
young  woman,  "  I  tell  Olive  that  she  will  positively 
have  to  be  put  out  of  the  clan,  if  she  does  not  turn 
over  a  new  leaf." 

"  We  are  pretty  busy  people  here,"  observed 
Mrs.  Carlyle,  serenely  unmoved  by  this  onslaught, 
although  as  conscious  as  her  daughter  of  its  ab- 
surdity. "  I  should  like  it  if  we  might  see  more 
of  one  another,"  she  continued,  looking  at  Mrs. 
Fuller  with  her  affectionate,  benedictory  gaze. 
"  I  am  one  who  believes  that  blood  is  much  thicker 
than  water;  witness"  —  looking  back  at  Mrs. 
Van  Kirk  — "  the  way  I  have  clung  to  the  slen- 
der thread  of  relationship  that  binds  ine  to  your 
aunt." 


OLIVE  CAELYLE.  13 

"  I  am  glad  you  do,  Mary,"  said  the  elder  guest 
graciously,  but  with  a  distinct  flavor  of  patronage. 
"  The  slightness  of  the  tie  matters  little  when  we 
consider  the  friendship  of  our  youth.  That  will 
connect  us  always,  although  circumstances  seem 
against  our  continuing  our  intimacy  in  these  days. 
But  I  have  come  on  another  errand  beside  re- 
proaching you  for  not  coming  to  see  me."  Mrs. 
Van  Kirk's  tight  jet  armor  creaked  as  she  settled 
back  in  her  chair.  "  I  remember  how  fond  you 
used  to  be  of  Maxwell  when  he  was  a  child  and 
what  an  interest  you  have  always  taken  in  him." 

"  Certainly.     What  of  him  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  have  great  news.  He  has  left  the 
army." 

"  Is  it  possible  !  "  ejaculated  Mrs.  Carlyle, 
throwing  herself  unrestrictedly  into  the  mother's 
interest,  and  looking  at  her  with  as  much  surprise 
and  attention  as  though  she  were  listening  to  news 
of  the  resignation  of  the  secretary  of  war.  "  And 
are  you  pleased,  Elinor  ?  " 

"  The  question  of  my  pleasure  has  been  very 
little  consulted,"  replied  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  dropping 
her  eyelids  and  drawing  in  her  breath. 

"I  can  tell  you  very  decidedly  that  I  am  not 
pleased,  Cousin  Mary,"  declared  the  young  widow, 
shaking  her  dark  head.  "  You  know  I  visited 
Max  at  his  post  with  Aunt  Elinor  this  summer. 
I  never  had  a  pleasanter  time  in  my  life.  I  am 
simply  disgusted  that  there  is  to  be  no  more  of  it ; 
but  neither  did  Cousin  Jotham  consult  me" 


14  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Ah,  Cousin  Jotham  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Carlyle,  turn- 
ing inquiringly  toward  Mrs.  Van  Kirk. 

"  Yes  ;  oh,  yes,"  replied  the  latter,  with  a  sub- 
dued air  of  importance,  "  it  is  all  Uncle  Jotham's 
doings.  You  know  he  is  getting  to  be  a  pretty 
old  man  now,  and  when  he  began  to  feel  that  he 
must  have  Max  near  him,  there  wasn't  much  to 
be  said.  At  first  the  boy  hesitated,  of  course  ;  but 
the  idleness  of  his  life  has  always  weighed  upon 
him.  There  is  next  to  no  hope,  or  fear,  of  active 
service  in  the  army,  and  when  his  Uncle  Jotham 
put  it  to  him  as  he  did,  Maxwell  finally  decided 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  do  as  the  old  gentleman  re- 
quested." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  nodded.  "  No  doubt  he  wishes 
Max  to  become  familiar  with  the  various  responsi- 
bilities which  will  devolve  upon  him  later.  I  am 
sure  we  can  see  Cousin  Jotham's  wisdom  in  that. 
It  would  be  unfair  to  make  the  boy  take  the  care 
of  such  a  complicated  property  without  any  prepa- 
ration." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  stiff  bodice  creaked  appallingly. 
"  Oh,  of  course  we  know  nothing  about  the  future," 
she  said,  looking  nevertheless  as  though  she  did 
know  much  which  yielded  her  satisfaction,  "but 
I  am  well  content  with  Max's  decision.  I  think 
he  did  right.  The  affair  has  been  pending  for 
some  time,  but  matters  are  settled  now,  and  Max- 
well is  in  town,  a  civilian  once  more.  We  have 
been  very  quiet  about  it  during  the  transition  pe- 
riod." 


OLIVE  CABLYLE.  15 

There  was  a  momentary  silence  in  the  room. 
Then,  "  I  hope  he  is  well  and  happy,"  hazarded 
Mrs.  Carlyle. 

"  Yes,  thank  you.  You  know  there  is  no  shilly- 
shallying in  Max's  nature.  He  considered  and 
made  up  his  mind,  and  now  there  will  be  no  regret, 
no  looking  backward,"  replied  the  young  man's 
fond  parent. 

"  And  the  United  States  has  lost  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  in  the  service,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Fuller,  smiling.  "  Army  officers  are  usually  good- 
looking,  though.  It  seems  to  have  a  favorable 
effect  on  the  features  as  well  as  the  figure  to  take 
a  military  training." 

"  The  errand  I  came  for  especially,"  said  Mrs. 
Van  Kirk,  looking  from  mother  to  daughter,  "  is 
to  bring  you  an  invitation  from  Uncle  Jotham." 

"  I  knew  it,"  declared  Olive  mentally,  and  she 
could  not  forbear  giving  one  look  at  her  mother. 
Mrs.  Van  Kirk  noted  the  wandering  glance,  and 
fixed  the  girl  with  her  large  gaze  as  she  proceeded : 

"  Dear  Uncle  Jotham  has  lived  in  almost  entire 
seclusion  for  so  long  that  you  will  probably  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  he  wants  all  the  family  for 
dinner  next  Wednesday." 

There  were  little  sparks  of  mischief  in  Olive's 
eyes.  "  Has  it  really  come  to  that  ?  "  she  asked, 
with  audacious  humor.  "  He  has  looked  for  years 
as  though  he  wanted  to  eat  us  all,  but  I  never 
thought  he  would  avow  it  and  actually  set  the  day 
for  the  operation." 


16  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Mrs.  Fuller  smiled. 

"  My  dear,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  in  dis- 
pleasure, "  respect  for  gray  hairs  should  make  you 
refrain  from  treating  dear  Uncle's  invitation  as  a 
joke.  I  assure  you,"  she  added  reproachfully, 
"  it  touched  me  deeply  to  think  he  desired  to  see 
all  his  kin  sitting  about  his  board  once  more  before 
he  goes  hence."  and  the  speaker  touched  her  eyes 
with  her  handkerchief.  "  Shall  I  tell  him,  Mary," 
—  turning  to  Mrs.  Carlyle,  —  "that  you  and  Olive 
will  be  present  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed.  I  suppose  it  is  a  dinner-party  in 
honor  of  Max." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  it  is,"  assented  Mrs.  Van  Kirk, 
with  becoming  modesty.  Then  she  rose  in  her 
noisy  jet  fringes.  "  We  were  belated  on  our  way 
here,  and  so  must  tear  ourselves  away,"  she  said. 
"  It  is  already  growing  dark." 

"  Are  you  doing  well  in  your  art  work  ?  "  Mrs. 
Fuller  asked  of  Olive,  as  she,  too,  rose. 

The  girl  answered  civilly,  but  was  painfully  con- 
scious of  the  open  scrutiny  with  which  the  young 
widow's  hard,  handsome  eyes  inventoried  the  old 
furnishings  of  the  parlor. 

"  Run  in  and  see  me  soon,  Mary,"  said  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk.  "  I  wish  I  had  a  home  and  could  beg  you  to 
make  a  longer  stay  than  a  flying  visit.  It  is  an 
unsatisfactory  life  —  this  boarding,"  and  she  shook 
her  head  mournfully. 

"  It  is  pleasant  for  you  and  Ida  to  be  in  the  same 
house,"  responded  Mrs.  Carlyle. 


OLIVE  CARLYLE.  17 

"  Oh,  I  should  be  a  forlorn  orphan  indeed  with- 
out Aunt  Elinor,"  said  Mrs.  Fuller,  and  with  a  few 
more  commonplaces  the  visitors  effected  their  de- 
parture. 

When  the  house  door  had  closed,  Olive  drew  her 
mother  into  her  loving  young  arms. 

"  Say  something  good  to  me  quick,"  she  said. 
"  I  am  all  bristling  like  a  porcupine.  Oh,  mother, 
I  like  you  !  You  are  so  real  and  so  true." 

"Then  come  down  and  help  me  get  supper," 
suggested  Mrs.  Carlyle,  yielding  her  cheek  to  the 
furious  kisses  her  daughter  was  implanting  upon 
it.  "  It  is  quite  time.  Next  Wednesday  we  shall 
not  have  to  get  our  own  supper.  It  seems  the  young 
prince  is  coming  into  his  own." 

"  Yes,"  said  Olive,  releasing  her  mother  and 
walking  across  the  room  with  an  excellent  imitation 
of  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  imposing,  important,  dominant 
air,  and  speaking  in  that  lady's  deliberate,  nasal 
tone.  "  Dear  Maxwell,  my  dear  child  —  so  dutiful 
to  dear  Uncle  Jotham,  so  everything  he  ought  to 
be  and  nothing  that  he  ought  n't  —  Oh,  Ida  Fuller 
is  a  snob ! "  exclaimed  Olive,  stopping  in  her 
dramatization  and  clinching  her  pretty  hands. 
"  What  right  had  she  to  stare  at  our  poor  little 
belongings  ?  And  I  know,  I  know  she  was  think- 
ing of  the  roomers." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  rented  rooms  to  certain  inoffensive 
individuals,  and  these  "  roomers,"  though  she  rarely 
laid  eyes  upon  them,  Miss  Carlyle  chose  to  consider 
the  tragic  features  of  her  life. 


18  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Her  mother  laughed  most  unsympathetically. 
"  Come,  dear ;  supper-time,"  she  said,  leading  the 
way  to  the  basement  stairs. 

"  "Well,"  replied  Olive,  following,  but  still  much 
ruffled,  "  I  believe  the  most  trying  of  all  Cousin 
Jotham's  cross-grained  eccentricities  is  this  occa- 
sional spasm  of  sociability  with  his  relatives.  He 
must  show  Max  off,  whatever  happens." 


CHAPTER  H. 

THE   FAMILY   DINNER-PARTY, 

"  IT  is  a  real  gathering  of  the  clan,  you  see, 
my  dears,"  said  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  graciously,  giving 
Olive  and  her  mother  each  a  hand,  as  on  the  fol- 
lowing Wednesday  evening  they  approached  her 
where  she  stood  by  the  folding  doors  in  Jotham 
Bagg's  high-studded,  spacious  old  drawing-room, 
in  her  temporary  character  of  hostess.  "  Uncle  Jo- 
tham," —  turning  to  the  permanently  frowning  old 
man  near  her,  and  speaking  with  increased  delib- 
eration and  sweetness, — "  here  is  our  fairest  bud." 

The  host  shook  the  girlish  hand,  as  it  was  offered, 
with  a  bony,  lifeless  touch.  "  How-d'-ye-do,  how-d'- 
ye-do," he  muttered,  automatically,  scarcely  parting 
his  dry  lips.  His  stiff,  thick,  silvery  hair  stood 
erect  above  his  wrinkled  face,  and  his  head  seemed 
set  immovably  in  his  high  white  stock,  while 
his  black  eyes  softened  not  at  all  as  they  rested  a 
moment  on  the  young  face. 

"  When  I  think  I  sent  him  that  portrait !  "  re- 
flected Olive,  as  she  moved  away.  "  What  has  he 
invited  us  here  for,  if  it  is  not  to  eat  us  ?  Do  see 
mother !  Would  n't  that  look  in  her  eyes  melt  a 
graven  image  ?  I  wonder  what  she  is  saying  to 


20  MISS  BAGG'S  SECEETARY. 

him  ;  something  sweet  about  Max,  probably,  for 
actually  the  idol  is  smiling.  My  !  I  should  think 
the  old  gentleman  would  be  afraid  of  cracking  his 
cheeks  ;  they  are  so  unused  to  it.  I  wonder  where 
the  exvlieutenant  is.  Ah  !  "  —  for  at  this  moment 
a  tall  man  in  evening  dress  entered  the  room,  not 
with  the  air  of  a  new  arrival,  but  as  though  he 
might  have  been  the  son  of  the  house.  He  caught 
sight  of  Miss  Carlyle's  flushed  face  and  advanced 
to  her  with  a  decided  look  of  interest.  "  What  is 
this  ?  What  is  this  ?  "  he  said,  as  he  shook  her 
hand.  "  You  have  been  growing  up  since  we  last 
met.  Why,  when  was  it  ?  The  last  time  I  saw  you 
you  were  a  little  girl,  with  your  hair  braided  down 
your  back." 

"  Of  course,"  replied  Olive  gayly.  "  You  did 
not  expect  me  to  remain  a  child  forever,  I  hope. 
It  is  my  turn  at  last  to  be  a  young  lady." 

"I  should  say  so,"  replied  Van  Kirk,  continuing 
to  look  at  her  with  surprise  and  approval. 

"  This  is  a  world  of  changes,"  she  remarked.  "  I 
understand  we  have  looked  our  last  on  all  those 
adornments  Lieutenant  Van  Kirk  once  dazzled  us 
with  in  these  rooms." 

"  Yes ;  I  have  n't  a  brass  button  to  my  name. 
All  my  dreams  of  martial  glory  I  left  behind  me  in 
Wyoming." 

"  And  are  you  glad,  or  sorry  ?  "  asked  Olive 
impulsively. 

The  young  man  hesitated. 

"  Well,"  he  said  at  last,  "  a  man  does  not  take 
such  a  step  without  due  consideration." 


THE  FAMILY  DINNER-PARTY.  21 

"  Which  means,"  replied  Olive,  with  a  pretty 
look  of  deprecation,  "  that  I  ought  not  to  have 
asked  that.  Well,  Cousin  Jotham  gives  you  a 
family  party  as  the  best  compensation  for  army 
gayety  at  his  command." 

Van  Kirk  smiled  in  sympathy  with  her  soft 
laugh.  "  It  is  rather  an  odd  freak  of  the  old 
gentleman's,  is  n't  it  ?  " 

Olive  nodded.  "  One  which  you  can  explain  if 
anybody  can,  I  suppose." 

"  Can't,  I  give  you  rny  word.  I  have  n't  the 
least  idea.  I  can  only  be  grateful  for  the  pleasure." 

"  Rather  a  questionable  pleasure.  There  are  no 
two  of  us  who  meet  twice  a  year.  There  is  n't  a 
common  interest  among  us,  —  not  one.  We  know 
each  other's  names,  and  that  is  all.  I  dare  say 
you  could  not  give  the  relationship  to  one  another 
of  the  people  in  this  room  to  save  your  life." 

"  And  I  would  n't  try,  for  the  laudable  purpose 
of  retaining  my  reason." 

"  Precisely.  It  is  the  most  absurd  gathering  I 
ever  heard  of." 

Mr.  Van  Kirk  smoothed  his  mustache.  "Are 
you  always  so  uncomplimentary  ?  " 

"  I  am  always  strictly  truthful,  and  that  must 
usually  mean  being  uncomplimentary  while  one 
lives  in  this  world." 

Maxwell  laughed.  The  speaker's  happy  face  and 
gentle  tone  were  so  unrelated  to  her  effort  at 
cynicism. 

"  Now,  it  strikes  me  that  Uncle  Jotham  should  be 


22  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

encouraged  in  making  these  little  excursions  out  of 
his  shell,"  he  returned.  "  How  are  you,  Wil- 
kins  ?  "  —  this  to  a  short,  red-faced  individual  who 
clapped  him  heartily  on  the  shoulder,  compelling 
him  to  turn  around. 

"  What  do  you  know  of  army  gayety  ?  "  he  pur- 
sued, turning  back  to  Olive  as  soon  as  civility  per- 
mitted. 

"  Not  much,  I  must  say ;  but  Ida  Fuller  was 
at  our  house  yesterday,  and  she  said  she  had  the 
pleasantest  visit  of  her  life  at  your  post." 

The  young  man  nodded.  "  Yes,  it  strikes  a 
stranger,  especially  a  young  lady,  as  a  very  pleas- 
ant life.  A  visitor  knows  nothing  of  the  monotony 
which  bears  down  on  one  after  a  certain  length  of 
time.  You  had  a  perfect  right  to  ask  if  I  was  glad 
to  leave  the  army.  I  was  rusting,  that  is  the  fact. 
I  like  New  York,  of  course.  Under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, I  am  glad  to  begin  life  again  here." 

He  looked  so  handsome  and  prosperous,  standing 
there  beneath  the  brilliant  chandelier,  it  passed 
through  the  mind  of  his  companion  that  he  was  in- 
deed an  enviable  being,  a  pet  of  fortune,  and 
that  he  had  done  wisely  in  discarding  his  shoul- 
der-straps to  take  up  the  active  career  which  lay 
before  him. 

There  was  another  listener  to  his  declaration, 
whose  sentiments  of  admiration  were  lost  in  the 
various  emotions  of  anxiety,  uneasiness,  and  jeal- 
ousy, which  the  mention  only  of  Van  Kirk's  name 
was  able  to  evoke.  This  was  the  florid  Jeremiah 


THE  FAMILY  DINNER-PARTY.  23 

Wilkins,  who,  bowing  to  Olive,  had  remained  in 
the  neighborhood.  No  soul  in  Mr.  Bagg's  circle  of 
acquaintance  had  been  so  deeply  stirred  by  the 
news  of  the  recall  of  the  young  lieutenant  as  that 
of  this  cousin  of  Jothatn's,  an  habitue"  of  the  house 
and  a  most  servile  slave  to  the  old  man's  whims  ; 
but  he  concealed  his  sentiments  under  a  bluff,  loud, 
familiar  cordiality,  and  now  rested  his  hand  again 
on  the  broad  shoulder  that  was  turned  toward  him. 

"  Of  course  you  feel  that  way,  and  right  you  are, 
Max,"  he  declared,  "  right  you  are !  " 

"  I  have  not  spoken  to  Ida,"  said  Olive. 
"  Does  n't  she  look  as  though  she  had  stepped  out 
of  an  old  picture  in  that  crape  gown  ? "  and  she 
turned  to  greet  Mrs.  Fuller,  who  advanced,  smiling. 

Although  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  and  her  son  labored 
nobly  to  create  an  atmosphere  of  harmony  amid  the 
inharmonious  assemblage,  Jotham  Bagg's  extraor- 
dinary dinner-party  was  rather  a  grotesque  affair. 
His  expressionless  face  as  he  sat  at  the  head  of  his 
wax-lighted  table  betrayed  no  feeling  whatever,  and 
beyond  answering  questions  addressed  directly  to 
him,  he  did  not  exert  himself  in  any  way  to  enter- 
tain his  guests,  whose  convulsive  efforts  to  assume 
an  air  of  good-fellowship  might  have  touched  even 
the  heart  of  their  host. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  uneasiness  was  plainly  discern- 
ible, and  to  her  son,  seconded  by  Mrs.  Fuller,  was 
due  whatever  measure  of  success  was  attained  in 
keeping  the  conversational  ball  rolling,  unless  Mr. 
Wilkins's  noisy  laughter  could  be  counted  an  aid. 


24  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

No  one  ever  saw  Maxwell  Van  Kirk  embarrassed 
or  at  a  loss,  and  even  under  the  present  depressing 
circumstances  he  talked,  told  anecdotes,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  drawing  responses  to  his  clever  questions 
from  the  most  hopelessly  mute  third  cousin  of  them 
all. 

But  all  this  was  hard  work  against  heavy  odds, 
and  it  was  in  answer  to  an  imperative  look  from 
him  that  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  with  no  unnecessarily  pro- 
longed ceremony  gave  her  final  gracious  smile 
around  the  table,  and,  rising,  led  the  way  back  to 
the  parlor,  the  other  women  following  in  her  rose- 
scented  wake. 

There  was  one  guest  who,  in  spite  of  her  stric- 
tures upon  this  eccentric  entertainment,  was  enjoy- 
ing it  highly.  Society,  beyond  church  sociables 
and  her  mother's  labors  of  love,  was  an  untried 
pleasure  to  Olive  Carlyle.  No  wonder  she  had 
enjoyed  being  placed  beside  Max  at  the  dinner- 
table  and  being  the  recipient  of  the  murmured 
asides  of  that  much-tried  young  man. 

Now  as  she  took  a  superannuated  album  and 
seated  herself  on  the  green  brocade  sofa  near  the 
pier  glass  in  the  drawing-room,  Ida  Fuller  took 
possession  of  the  place  beside  her. 

"  Let  me  sit  by  you  and  rest  a  minute  from  this 
woefully  stupid  set  of  people,"  said  the  widow. 
"  Everybody  seems  under  a  spell  to-night.  I  never 
encountered  such  obstinate  silence." 

"  I  suppose  the  company  cannot  recover  from 
their  surprise  at  being  invited  here." 


THE  FAMILY  DINNER-PARTY.  25 

Mrs.  Fuller  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "  Perhaps 
that  is  it.  Cousin  Jeremiah  was  odious.  I  wish 
I  knew  how  to  snub  him.  He  is  such  a  mixture  of 
eagerness  and  uneasiness.  Just  one  of  the  para- 
sites you  read  about.  How  can  he  hang  so  on 
Cousin  Jotham's  looks  ?  Every  time  our  host's 
piercing  little  black  eyes  roved  around  the  table, 
it  seemed  to  me  they  were  saying :  '  Oh,  I  see 
through  you.  Poor  relations,  all  of  you.'  He 
makes  me  conscious  that  every  civil  word  anybody 
addresses  to  him  is  set  down  in  his  mind  as  an 
effort  to  win  his  favor." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Olive,  "  and  on  that  account  I 
am  rather  proud  of  the  sulky  front  presented  by 
the  family  to  its  head." 

"  We  all  know  it  is  of  no  use,"  said  Ida,  half- 
laughing.  "  Every  one  is  sure  that  Max  will  be 
Cousin  Jotham's  heir.  It  is  a  shame,  too.  There 
is  so  much  money,  it  ought  to  be  divided.  Think 
what  a  convenient  thing  that  would  be  for  us  all." 

"  Yes,  I  know ;  but  I  would  n't  ask  for  it  by  word 
or  action." 

"  Would  n't  you  ?  I  would.  If  I  knew  just 
the  look,  word,  or  act  that  would  please  Cousin 
Jotham,  I  would  look  or  speak  or  do  it  the  instant 
he  comes  in.  I  would  out-Wilkins  Cousin  Jere- 
miah. Oh,  I  have  n't  seen  that.  Why,  the 
wretch ! " 

This  exclamation  from  Mrs.  Fuller  was  caused 
by  the  discovery  of  a  picture  in  the  album  whose 
leaves  they  had  been  turning,  of  a  man  in  uniform. 


26  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

His  pure  profile  and  noble  head  were  brought  out 
by  the  photographer's  art  in  flattering  perfection. 
Olive  gazed  at  it  in  silent  ad  miration.  Ida's  frown 
vanished  in  a  smile.  "  If  Cousin  Jotham  should, 
out  of  pure  contrariness,  neglect  Max  in  his  will," 
she  continued,  "he  has  a  career  before  him  as 
leading  man  in  a  theatrical  company.  He  could 
live  on  the  returns  from  his  photographs." 

"  But  he  would  not  think  of  it,"  replied  Olive, 
apparently  treating  the  subject  seriously.  "  He  is 
remarkably  unconscious  of  his  looks,  I  think." 

"  He  is  unconscious.  It  is  his  redeeming  fea- 
ture. I  think  it  makes  every  one  forgive  him 
his  beauty  ;  but  we  had  better  turn  the  leaf,  he  is 
coming." 

The  men  entered  the  room  in  rather  solemn  pro- 
cession, and  Olive  looked  up  with  involuntary 
eagerness.  Mr.  Van  Kirk  glanced  toward  the 
corner  where  she  and  his  cousin  were  seated,  but 
moved  on  to  the  side  of  a  shy  and  stiff  young 
woman  to  whom  his  mother  was  talking,  not  ap- 
parently to  the  stranger's  entertainment. 

The  young  people  on  the  sofa  continued  to  turn 
the  leaves  of  the  album  which  contained,  besides 
Max's,  only  pictures  of  long  by-gone  days,  and  they 
enjoyed  much  repressed  hilarity  over  the  costumes 
and  hair-dressing  of  Mr.  Bagg's  circle  of  acquaint- 
ance. They  tried  in  vain  to  imagine  Cousin  Jo- 
tham in  the  position  of  asking  for  the  photograph 
of  a  friend  and,  coming  to  the  counterfeit  present- 
ment of  a  stout  lady,  in  a  high,  white  cap,  with  im- 


THE  FAMILY  DINNER-PAETY.  27 

mense  puffs  of  black  hair  each  side  her  face,  Ida 
dramatized  the  probable  exchange  of  amenities 
which  led  up  to  the  presentation  until  Olive  for- 
got all  pugnacity  in  merriment,  and  besought  her 
breathlessly  and  with  tears  to  desist. 

"  Mother  is  looking  at  us  and  wondering  what 
is  the  matter,"  she  exclaimed,  struggling  with  her 
risibles.  "  Do  hush,  Ida.  Here  comes  Cousin  Eli- 
nor, too." 

As  she  spoke,  Olive  closed  the  album  guiltily. 
"  You  children  seem  to  be  having  a  merry  time," 
said  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  suavely,  as  she  approached. 
"  We  want  you  to  entertain  the  rest  of  us  now. 
Can't  we  have  some  music  ?  " 

"  Music  —  here?  "  ejaculated  Olive. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  with  some 
severity.  "  The  piano  is  in  tune.  I  saw  to  that  my- 
self. Ida,  you  must  sing,"  she  continued,  curtly. 
"  Olive,  I  know,  will  play  your  accompaniment." 

The  graceful  woman  looked  up  with  a  little  smile. 
"  Why  so  imperative  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Oh,  for  mercy's  sake  don't  try  me.  This  even- 
ing would  rack  the  stoutest  nerves.  Let  us  get  it 
over." 

"  Complimentary,  is  n't  she  ?  "  —  this  to  Max, 
who  here  approached.  "  You  know  best  if  it  will 
be  safe  for  me  to  sing.  Will  you  promise  to  re- 
strain our  host  if  he  should  become  violent  ?  " 

She  rose  with  Olive,  who  immediately  went  to 
the  piano  and  seated  herself.  Mrs.  Fuller  opened 
a  book  of  music  on  the  rack. 


28  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  would  prefer  to  sing  this,"  she  said,  indicat- 
ing one  of  the  songs. 

"  Well,  I  have  seen  it  before,  fortunately  for 
you,"  remarked  Olive  ;  "  it  is  not  easy  to  play." 

"  Singers  are  so  selfish,  too,  don't  you  know," 
returned  Mrs.  Fuller ;  "  they  think  so  little  of  the 
trouble  they  give  their  accompanists.  Accompany- 
ing is  the  most  ungrateful  business  in  the  world ; 
but  I  am  an  exception,  really.  I  appreciate  the 
work." 

"Accompanists  are  born,  not  made,"  replied 
Olive,  smiling,  "and  I  am  vain  enough  to  think 
myself  one.  I  hope  you  will  like  me." 

"  Oh,  of  course,"  murmured  Ida,  and  then  the 
prelude  tripped  daintily  forth  from  the  yellow  old 
keys. 

Jotham  Bagg  turned  his  body  toward  the  per- 
formers. His  lifeless  face  gained  no  expression  as 
his  eyes  found  the  singer.  The  tendrils  of  her 
feathery  hair  against  the  white  nape  of  her  neck 
affected  him  with  no  admiration.  His  expression 
was  at  ludicrous  odds  with  the  fire  and  fervor  of 
the  Spanish  song  that  rolled  from  the  singer's  lips. 
It  was  all  about  roses,  and  dark  eyes,  and  foun- 
tains, and  dancing,  and  loving. 

"  Of  dancing  I  knew  naught, 
By  Inez  I  was  taught !  " 

sang  Ida,  with  spirit,  and  her  host's  face  wrinkled 
unconsciously  into  myriad  lines  of  endurance. 
At  last  came  the  final  refrain  :  — 

"  Of  loving  I  knew  naught, 
By  Inez  I  was  taught !  " 


THE  FAMILY  DINNER-PARTY.  29 

Old  Jotham  looked  grim  disdain  over  his  white 
neckcloth ;  his  mouth  had  become  but  one  more 
wrinkle  in  his  drawn  face ;  but  young  Van  Kirk 
met  the  singer  when  she  rose,  with  ardent  dark 
eyes  and  unsmiling  lips  that  murmured  some  in- 
audible flattery  which  colored  the  cheeks  of  the 
fair  songstress  and  made  her  careless  of  other 
praise.  She  had  never  been  so  sure  as  to-night 
that  it  was  worth  while  to  please  Max  Van  Kirk, 
and  she  was  elated  by  her  success. 

"  Max  is  in  love  with  her,"  thought  Olive,  with 
a  start.  The  possibility  had  not  occurred  to  her 
before,  and  the  conviction  gave  her  for  the  moment, 
after  having  so  much  enjoyed  his  approving  glances 
and  words,  a  sudden  sensation  of  being  left  out 
and  neglected. 

"  Now  don't  rise,  Olive,"  begged  Mrs.  Van  Kirk. 
"  Give  us  one  of  your  own  songs.  No  excuses, 
my  dear.  In  practice  or  out  of  practice,  you  have 
sung  since  you  were  two  years  old,  and  can  no  more 
help  it  than  the  brooks  or  the  birds.  Sit  right 
down  and  sing  us  something." 

The  host,  hearing  this  and  seeing  the  girl  seat 
herself  once  more  at  the  piano,  indulged  in  an  un- 
mistakably fresh  frown,  and  wondered  why  he  had 
not  made  kindling  wood  of  that  nuisance  of  an 
instrument  before  to-day  ;  but  as  Olive  touched 
her  prelude  he  frowned  more  deeply.  He  recog- 
nized something  in  the  simple  harmony. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  looked  up,  wondering  what  had 
tempted  the  child  to  resurrect  the  old  song  which 


30  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETAEY. 

she  had  never  sung  except  at  her  mother's  special 
request.  Perhaps  it  was  a  spirit  of  perversity 
which  determined  Olive  to  give  a  performance  as 
removed  as  possible  from  that  which  had  lighted 
such  admiration  in  Maxwell  Van  Kirk's  eyes.  At 
all  events,  it  was  "  Mary  of  Argyle  "  which  she 
began  to  sing  in  an  easy,  natural  voice,  as  fresh 
and  sweet  as  herself. 

"  I  have  heard  the  inavis  singing 
His  love-song  to  the  morn  "  — 

Jotham  Bagg's  frown  faded  away.  He  glanced 
at  Van  Kirk,  who  was  listening  with  polite  indiffer- 
ence. A  strange  pang  shot  through  the  old  man. 
He  had  heard  Max's  grandmother  sing  that  song, 
—  yes,  on  many  a  happy  evening.  Ah,  had  fate 
been  more  kind,  this  young  man  would  have  been 
his  own  by  right  of  blood  instead  of  by  might  of 
riches. 

When  the  song  closed  and  Olive  arose,  the  com- 
pany were  electrified  by  what  occurred.  It  was 
merely  courteous  of  old  Jotham,  but  only  those 
who  knew  him  best  could  comprehend  how  amazing 
his  action  was. 

He  walked  across  the  room  to  Olive  and  made 
her  a  stiff,  queer  bow.  "Thank  you,"  he  said, 
curtly.  "  I  enjoyed  that  very  much." 

Max  raised  his  eyebrows.  His  mother  stared 
uneasily.  Mrs.  Fuller  smiled  and  looked  alert  and 
interested. 

Miss  Carlyle  blushed  all  over  with  surprise  and 
girlish  exultation. 


THE  FAMILY  DINNER-PARTY.  31 

"  I  am  comforted  at  last  about  the  portrait,"  she 
said  to  her  mother,  as  soon  as  they  were  alone. 

"  It  was  quite  a  little  triumph,  Olive,  quite  a 
little  triumph,"  responded  Mrs.  Carlyle.  "You 
really  gave  pleasure  to  the  poor  old  gentleman. 
The  text  has  been  ringing  in  my  ears  all  the 
evening:  'Consider  the  poor.'  How  truly  poor 
Cousin  Jotham  seems  to  be.  We  ought  to  give 
him  what  we  can." 

Maxwell  Van  Kirk  gave  no  thought  to  a  possible 
rival  in  Olive.  He  was  aglow  with  the  fascination 
he  felt  for  the  charming  woman  whom  he  put  into 
the  coupe  with  his  mother  before  starting  on  his 
brisk  homeward  walk. 

"  Of  loving  I  knew  naught, 
By  Inez  I  was  taaght ; "  — 

he  hummed  as  he  strode  on.  "  I  '11  wait  no  longer," 
he  murmured,  unconsciously  smiling.  "  I  '11  speak 
to  her  to-morrow,  and  then  I  '11  break  it  to  Uncle 
Jotham." 

But  Olive  Carlyle  was  not  destined  to  bring 
more  moments  of  pleasure  to  the  indrawn,  narrow 
life  of  the  millionaire,  and  twelve  hours  later  Uncle 
Jotham  could  neither  sanction  nor  resent  Max's 
attachment.  Before  noon  of  the  next  day  it  was 
known  throughout  business  circles  that  Jotham 
Bagg  had  been  found  dead  in  his  bed  that 
morning. 


CHAPTER  in. 

LYDIA   BAGG. 

THERE  was  one  relative  of  Jotham's  who  was 
not  invited  to  the  family  dinner.  A  sufficient  rea- 
son for  the  neglect  lay  in  the  fact  that  she  lived 
in  Massachusetts,  but  another  element  in  the  case 
was  that  Mr.  Bagg  had  forgotten  the  existence  of 
this  niece. 

Miss  Lydia  Bagg,  having  but  a  misty  conscious- 
ness that  there  was  such  a  being  as  her  uncle,  was, 
of  course,  unmoved  by  the  slight.  She  was  a  con- 
tented, cheerful  woman,  living  her  quiet  life  in  the 
small  village  of  Ashley,  with  no  one  to  look  out 
for  but  Judge  Gray  and  her  Irish  Nora,  who  with 
herself  composed  a  household  enviably  independent 
of  the  longings  and  heart-burnings  experienced  by 
Uncle  Jotham's  satellites. 

One  dull,  cold  morning,  some  time  after  her 
uncle's  last  dinner  -  party,  Miss  Bagg  gave  the 
Judge  his  breakfast  as  usual,  and  then  left  him 
alone  in  her  shabby  parlor  to  digest  it,  while  she 
went  out  to  do  a  few  errands. 

It  always  had  a  soporific  effect  upon  the  Judge 
to  be  alone.  At  the  time  when  his  eloquence  would 
have  annoyed  no  one,  his  perverse  spirit  urged  him 


LYDIA  BAGG.  33 

to  take  little  naps  or  to  go  into  protracted  brown 
studies,  during  which  his  inien  was  portentously 
solemn,  and  he  seemed  to  revolve  in  his  gray  head 
all  the  events  of  his  experience  and  the  problems 
of  life  so  far  as  they  affected  him.  From  time  to 
time  he  broke  the  silence  by  uttering  guttural  com- 
ments, and  these  were  often  at  such  startling  va- 
riance with  the  dignity  of  his  appearance  as  to 
lead  a  chance  listener  to  doubt  the  profundity  of  the 
meditations  occupying  the  wise-looking  cranium. 

The  pupils  of  the  Judge's  eyes  had  a  fashion 
of  dilating  and  contracting  with  a  celerity  which 
did  not  inspire  confidence  in  his  interlocutors,  ex- 
cepting in  the  case  of  the  one  woman  who  believed 
in  him,  loved  him,  caressed  him,  and  cared  for  him 
faithfully  through  winter's  cold  and  summer's  heat. 

To  the  Judge's  credit  be  it  said  that  he  forbore 
from  shaking  Miss  Bagg's  faith.  If  he  was  not 
in  truth  so  deeply  attached  to  her  as  she  believed 
him  to  be,  he  certainly  forbore  from  maltreating 
her  physically,  or  hurting  her  feelings  by  malice 
or  derision  as  he  did  those  of  poor  Nora,  the 
maid  of  all  work.  Good-natured  Nora  was  in- 
clined to  like  the  Judge.  She  certainly  respected 
him,  and  had  unlimited  faith  in  his  penetration 
and  sagacity ;  yet  he  flouted  her,  jeered  at  her, 
and  laughed  her  to  scorn  in  a  way  which  actually 
at  times  goaded  her  to  wrathful  tears  ;  but  with 
this  occasional  exception  Miss  Bagg's  was  a  serene 
little  household,  where  content  if  not  plenty 
reigned. 


34  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

The  mistress  of  it  had  at  different  periods  of 
her  fifty  years  of  life  sighed  gently  over  the  facts 
of  single-blessedness  and  poverty.  She  had  felt 
the  latter  more  since  the  Judge  became  a  member 
of  her  family.  He  was  so  excessively  fond  of 
fruit ;  and  Miss  Bagg  being  excessively  fond  of 
the  Judge,  it  hurt  her  tender  heart  not  to  be  able 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year  to  supply  him  with  his 
favorite  articles  of  food.  However,  single-blessed- 
ness and  limited  means  being  the  general  lot  of 
womankind  in  Ashley,  these  trials  were  less  hard 
to  bear  there  than  they  might  have  been  in  dif- 
ferent surroundings,  and  Miss  Bagg,  being  of  a 
cheerful,  industrious  disposition,  did  not  dream  of 
spending  any  time  in  wishing  circumstances  other 
than  they  were. 

Dozens  of  little  wrinkles  had  already  woven 
themselves  about  her  eyes,  but  she  never  bestowed 
a  thought  upon  them.  Dozens  of  gray  hairs 
mingled  in  the  tightly  tied  tuft  of  curls  that  stood 
out  in  a  bunch  at  the  back  of  her  head,  but  she 
did  not  attempt  to  count  them,  and  never  had 
pulled  one  out.  Miss  Lydia  had  been  prim  and 
precise  at  eighteen,  when  she  was  the  youngest 
of  the  Bagg  girls,  and  now  that  she  was  alone 
in  the  world  she  was  one  of  the  Bagg  girls  still 
among  the  more  ancient  sisterhood  of  Ashley ; 
and  in  the  consistent  if  selfish  attachment  of  the 
Judge,  and  the  whole-souled,  fervent  love  of  her 
Irish  Nora,  there  was  nothing  to  remind  her  that 
she  was  growing  old. 


LYDIA  EAGG.  35 

She  set  forth  from  her  house  this  chilly  morning 
as  usual  to  make  her  small  purchases,  and  nothing 
within  or  without  gave  her  a  presentiment  that 
the  day,  so  similar  to  hundreds  that  had  preceded 
it,  was  to  bring  her  to  a  sharp  turning  in  her  life's 
lane. 

Nora  watched  her  from  the  window,  filled  with 
affectionate  approval  of  her  gait  and  the  fall  of  the 
old  plaid  shawl  from  her  thin  shoulders.  Miss 
Bagg  did  not  grow  fleshy  with  her  years,  and 
plump  Nora  was  never  weary  of  admiring  the  bones 
that  showed  so  genteelly  in  her  mistress's  hands, 
and  she  considered  Miss  Lydia's  profile  —  a  very 
pronounced  profile,  thanks  to  a  slightly  retreating 
forehead  and  chin  and  a  prominent,  thin  nose  —  to 
be  the  ideal  of  all  that  was  aristocratic  and  fine. 

"  She  had  a  right  to  take  her  umbrell,"  muttered 
the  girl,  with  a  careful  thought  for  the  ancient 
black  straw  hat  which  had  accompanied  Miss  Lydia 
to  market  during  all  the  years  her  maid  had  known 
her,  and  perhaps  longer  still. 

The  Judge  from  his  window  could  also  see  Miss 
Bagg's  retreating  figure.  He  yawned  as  he  looked 
after  her,  and  then  began  to  wink  and  blink  and 
nod  in  one  of  his  comfortable  siestas.  It  was  a 
dull,  dark  morning.  A  fire  sputtered  feebly  in 
the  open  stove,  a  tall  clock  ticked  in  a  corner  of 
the  room.  The  furniture  was  spare  and  faded,  and 
the  carpet  a  much  mended  affair,  with  an  indis- 
tinguishable pattern.  A  little  stand  of  house-plants 
in  the  window  was  the  only  cheerful  object  in  the 


36  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

room,  until,  after  many  swings  of  the  clock's  long 
pendulum,  Nora  came  in  to  look  after  the  condi- 
tion of  the  fire.  The  Judge  opened  his  eyes  with 
a  start. 

"  Hello,"  he  remarked,  in  his  deep  bass. 

"  Hello,  Joodge,"  returned  the  girl. 

"  Come,  kiss  me,"  said  the  Judge  coaxingly. 

"  'Dade,  thin,  I  won't.  It 's  a  bit  o'  me  lip  ye  'd 
be  afther  takin'.  Go  off  wid  ye." 

The  Judge  laughed  as  though  he  rather  enjo3"ed 
the  impeachment,  while  Nora  knelt  down  before 
the  grate.  "  Tor'rmint !  The  fire 's  gone  out  an  me 
agin,"  she  exclaimed,  placing  some  sticks  beneath 
the  coals  in  forlorn  hope. 

"  Ha,  ha,"  laughed  the  Judge.  "  Get  out,  red- 
head !  " 

Nora's  face  flamed  between  her  annoyance  with 
the  perverse  fire  and  this  assault. 

"  It  's  as  good  have  a  rid  hid  as  a  rid  tail  like 
yerself,"  she  retorted.  "  Shut  up,  now." 

The  poker  fell  upon  the  hearth  with  a  crash. 

"  Come  in,"  called  the  Judge,  with  sudden  so- 
lemnity. 

As  though  in  response  to  his  summons,  the  door 
opened  and  a  lady  entered.  It  was  Miss  Bagg 
herself,  —  the  being  who  loved  him ;  the  woman 
whose  pleasure  and  self-imposed  duty  it  was  to 
minister  to  his  happiness  ;  yet  I  regret  to  say 
that  the  only  greeting  which  escaped  him  now 
on  beholding  her  was  a  subdued  ejaculation  of 
"Eats!" 


LYDIA  BAGG.  37 

The  new-comer  did  not  heed  him.  Her  quick 
eyes  fell  upon  her  maid.  "  Fire  out  again,  Nora  ? 
Strange  you  can't  learn  to  make  that  fire.  Here, 
it  is  of  no  use  to  do  that.  Lift  off  the  coal  first. 
Now,  put  on  your  paper  and  sticks.  Now,  go  get 
the  blower.  How  damp  it  is !  The  cold  creeps 
into  the  house  and  into  one's  very  bones.  Does  n't 
it,  Judgie-boy?" 

The  brisk  little  woman  took  off  her  shawl  and 
hat,  and  after  giving  one  or  two  pats  to  her  hair, 
seated  herself  to  open  the  letters  she  had  brought 
home  from  the  post-office.  There  were  two  of  them, 
and  letters  were  a  great  novelty  to  Lydia  Bagg ; 
so  she  allowed  Nora  to  pursue  her  own  way,  mut- 
tering, about  the  fire,  while  she  opened  one  of  the 
envelopes  with  considerable  eagerness.  Miss  Bagg's 
face,  as  she  read,  grew  more  and  more  mystified. 
She  turned  the  letter  over  at  last  and  looked  at  its 
blank  back,  as  though  hoping  to  find  there  some 
key  by  which  to  decipher  its  contents.  She  gave 
her  chair  a  hitch  toward  the  window,  with  the  in- 
voluntary effort,  so  natural,  to  get  light  on  a  per- 
plexing subject,  but  when  she  had  read  the  letter 
the  second  time  its  contents  still  remained  dark 
sayings  to  her.  The  mysterious  document  was 
dated  from  New  York  and  ran  thus  :  — 

Miss  LYDIA  BAGG  : 

Dear  Madam,  —  My  friend  Mr.  Galbraith  has 
told  me  of  the  change  in  your  circumstances,  and 
it  occurs  to  me  that  I,  although  a  stranger  to  you, 


38  HISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

should  extend  to  you  my  congratulations  and  in 
addition  offer  you  my  services  in  case  I  can  be  of 
assistance  to  you.  Mr.  Galbraith  thinks  you  may 
wish  to  remove  to  this  city,  and  that  perhaps  you 
are  unfamiliar  here.  I  will  simply  say  that  in  case 
there  is  no  one  whom  you  would  prefer  to  call 
upon  for  the  information,  or  assistance,  or  woman's 
wit  you  may  require  in  seeking  new  surroundings, 
I,  being  connected  with  you  by  ties  of  marriage  if 
not  of  blood,  shall  be  pleased  to  serve  you  in  any 
possible  way.  A  letter  to  your  lawyer's  address 
will  find  me.  Hoping  we  may  become  friends,  I 
am  sincerely  yours,  IDA  E.  FULLEK. 

Miss  Bagg  lifted  her  wondering  eyes,  and  a 
roaring  in  the  grate  attracted  her  attention.  She 
started  up  and  took  off  the  blower,  then  opened 
the  door  and  called  Nora. 

"  Does  it  want  more  coal,  mem  ?  "  inquired  the 
latter,  hurrying  in  from  the  kitchen. 

"  Nora,"  said  her  mistress,  with  unwonted  sever- 
ity, "  I  've  taught  you  to  read  and  you  're  a  credit 
tome.  What  does  that  say?"  —  presenting  the 
envelope  which  had  brought  the  mystery. 

"  Miss  —  Lydia  —  Bagg,  mem,"  replied  the  girl, 
faltering  and  round-eyed. 

"  Very  well.  Is  there  any  other  person  of  that 
name  in  Ashley  ?  " 

"  Not  us  I  ever  heerd  of,  mem." 

"  Of  course  there  is  n't.  Now,  the  question  is, 
what  does  it  all  mean  ?  Wait  —  the  other  letter." 


LYDIA  BAGG.  39 

Miss  Bagg's  manner  was  almost  tragic,  and  Nora 
stared,  amazed,  while  her  mistress  tore  open  the 
second  envelope  and  perused  its  contents. 

"  You  rascal !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge  severely. 
Then,  changing  suddenly  to  Miss  Bagg's  soprano 
voice,  he  added  wheedlingly :  "  Now,  Judgie-boy, 
can't  you  sing  a  little  ?  " 

"  Why  Nora !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg,  growing 
very  red.  Then  she  turned  so  pale  that  her  hand- 
maid began  to  fan  her  violently  with  her  apron. 

"  Oh  don't,  Miss  Bagg  ;  please  don't !  What  is 
it  ?  What  is  it  ?  Yer  scarin'  the  life  out  o'  me !  " 

"  Never  mind.  Hush,  —  it  is  all  right.  It 's 
sudden,  that  is  all ;  "  and  Miss  Lydia,  languidly 
waving  her  hand,  sank  back  in  her  chair,  and  con- 
tinued to  look  so  white  that  Nora  fell  on  her  knees 
beside  her  and  wept,  and  exclaimed,  and  fanned, 
while  the  Judge,  disliking  the  whirlwind  raised  in 
his  vicinity,  cackled  and  laughed  and  made  threat- 
ening lunges  toward  her  head,  while  she,  for  once 
unconscious  of  his  hostility,  fanned  on. 

"  Nora,  I  believe  you  're  fond  of  me,"  said  Miss 
Bagg,  rather  tremulously. 

"  I  love  every  inch  o'  you,  mem,"  returned  the 
girl  fervently. 

"  I  never  gave  you  much  wages,"  sighed  Miss 
Lydia,  "  but  you  know  I  could  n't." 

"  Wages,  is  it !  "  cried  Nora,  her  eyes  full  of 
tears.  "  Did  n't  ye  take  me  whin  me  mother  died 
an'  me  father  kicked  me  into  the  street,  an'  I  was 
that  little  an'  stupid  I  was  no  good  to  annybody; 


40  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

an'  did  n't  ye  dress  me,  and  tache  me,  an'  be  patient 
wid  me  even  whin  I  let  the  fire  out  an  ye  ;  an'  don't 
I  love  ye  ?  boo-hoo,  boo-hoo,"  blubbered  the  girl. 

Miss  Bagg  patted  the  red  hair.  "  I  am  glad 
you  do  care  for  me,  Nora,"  she  answered,  "for  I 
never  felt  so  lonely  in  my  life ;  "  and  then  Miss 
Lydia  shed  some  quiet  tears  on  her  own  account, 
while  the  Judge  whistled  a  few  bars  of  "  The  Girl 
I  Left  Behind  Me,"  dancing  clumsily  with  much 
spirit  to  his  own  piping. 

"  An'  I  won't  lave  you,  no  matter  what 's  hap- 
pened. 'T  ain't  wages  would  get  me  away,  you 
know  that,  mem." 

Miss  Bagg  wiped  her  eyes.  "  I  believe  you, 
Nora.  It  is  too  bad  to  frighten  you  so.  Nothing 
bad  has  happened.  I  suppose  it  is  something  very 
good.  I  've  had  a  lot  of  money  left  to  me." 

"  Ye  have  ! "  exclaimed  the  other,  in  sudden 
glee,  clapping  her  hands  on  her  knees  and  gazing 
up  through  tear-wet  eyes.  "  Then  we  '11  be  afther 
havin'  a  new  tay-kittle,  won't  we,  Miss  Bagg? 
Hooroo !  " 

Miss  Lydia  nodded,  and  swallowed  hard.  She 
could  not  pass  from  tears  to  smiles  so  readily. 

"  Scratch,"  said  the  Judge,  in  a  bass  voice  of 
entreaty.  His  mistress  looked  at  him.  His  head 
was  lowered  close  to  the  wires  of  his  cage,  and  he 
was  gazing  at  her  out  of  the  tops  of  his  golden 
eyes,  each  delicately  shaded  feather  on  his  scalp 
erected.  Miss  Lydia  mechanically  slipped  her 
hand  through  the  bars  and  smoothed  his  head, 


LYDIA  BAGG.  41 

while  he  turned  his  powerful  beak  and  took  hold  of 
her  fingers,  nibbling  them  gently  as  they  ruffled  bis 
plumage.  All  the  mines  of  Golconda  would  not 
have  tempted  Nora  so  to  put  herself  in  the  Judge's 
power,  although  he  frequently  gave  her  the  same 
invitation. 

"  Miss  Bagg,  if  ye  're  sure  't  ain't  a  joke  they  're 
playin'  on  ye,"  she  said  earnestly,  "  could  I  go  an' 
git  the  kittle  now  ?  Sure  I  'm  scalded  to  the  el- 
bow wid  the  cover  fallin'  in  the  old  one." 

"  Yes,  yes,  Nora.     Go  on,  poor  child." 

Left  alone,  Miss  Bagg  tried  to  adjust  herself  to 
the  amazing  news  which  had  so  unnerved  her. 
Once  more  she  read  the  lawyer's  letter,  informing 
her  briefly  of  her  good  fortune.  What  would  the 
neighbors  say,  who  had  been  familiar  with  her  pov- 
erty for  a  quarter  of  a  century  ?  Little  by  little, 
very  slowly,  possibilities  presented  themselves  to 
her  practical,  unimaginative  mind.  She  could 
paint  her  house.  She  could  have  a  new  carpet  in 
the  sitting-room  to  replace  this  faded  and  thread- 
bare affair  upon  which  her  feet  now  rested.  She 
could  afford  to  give  something  more  to  her  church 
than  the  work  of  her  industrious  hands. 

It  was  all  very  wonderful  and  very  pleasant. 
A  glow  of  vague  anticipation  warmed  her  heart, 
and  the  temporary  dismay  which  the  overpowering 
news  brought  with  it  had  passed  away. 

"  Judgie,  is  n't  it  wonderful !  "  she  murmured, 
and  the  Judge  clucked  his  satisfaction  at  having 
his  feathers  smoothed  the  wrong  way,  and  gave 
her  one  of  his  knowing  side  glances. 


42  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  've  nobody  but  a  bird  and  a  grateful  Irish 
girl  to  be  glad  for  me,  but  I  'm  a  happy  woman, 
and  I  '11  try  to  do  good  with  the  money  —  when  I 
get  a  little  used  to  it,"  added  Miss  Bagg,  a  timid 
catch  in  her  breath  as  a  dim  but  awful  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility assailed  her. 

It  was  late  that  night  before  she  could  succeed 
in  losing  consciousness  in  a  restless  slumber.  Mr. 
Galbraith,  the  lawyer  who  had  written  to  her,  had 
said  that  she  would  be  obliged  to  come  soon  to 
New  York  to  take  part  in  business  settlements,  and 
the  letter  from  his  friend,  the  strange  lady,  seemed, 
in  the  excited  condition  of  Miss  Bagg's  mind, 
almost  threatening.  She  wondered  if  she  must 
really  give  up  the  little  home  she  loved  and  had 
grown  into,  until  not  the  snail's  ohell  seemed  more 
a  part  of  itself  than  her  story  and  a  half  house  did 
of  Miss  Bagg.  Surely  they  would  not  be  so  cruel 
as  to  tear  her  away  from  it.  She  could  go  to  the 
city  and  write  her  name  wherever  the  lawyer  told 
her  to,  and  then  come  back  and  continue  the  peace- 
ful life  habitual  to  her,  with  increased  powers  for 
usefulness,  the  thought  of  which  brought  a  very 
happy  feeling  with  it  each  time  it  recurred. 

Mr.  Jotham  Bagg.  Miss  Lydia  pondered  upon 
the  little  she  knew  of  her  benefactor,  and  tried 
to  remember  his  looks.  Notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  he  was  her  father's  only  brother,  she  could 
remember  to  have  seen  him  only  once,  and  then 
at  a  time  when  she  was  so  young  that  all  she  could 
recall  of  him  now  was  a  portentous  frown.  There 


LYDIA  BAGG.  43 

had  been  some  trouble  between  him  and  her  fa- 
ther, —  that  she  knew.  Never  in  the  many  years 
during  which  she  had  been  an  orphan  had  this 
stranger-relative  made  a  sign  that  he  knew  of  her 
existence.  Now  he  had  left  her  a  fortune.  It 
was  strange,  incredible  ;  yet  it  was  true,  and  when 
Miss  Bagg  fell  asleep  she  was  still  marveling,  still 
building  the  simplest  of  castles  in  the  air,  which, 
although  various,  shared  some  features  in  common. 
They  were  all  well  painted  in  pale  yellow  with 
chocolate  trimmings,  and  had  the  brightest  of  car- 
pets. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
MISS  BAGG'S  FIRST  PROPOSAL. 

Miss  LYDIA  awoke  to  a  strange  combination  of 
mental  impressions  the  following  morning.  Al- 
though she  shrunk  from  the  meeting  with  lawyers 
and  possible  other  strangers  which  must  take  place 
before  she  could  come  into  quiet  possession  of  her 
own,  the  new  idea  of  power  which  had  dawned 
in  her  mind  deepened  and  spread,  and  gradually 
swallowed  up  her  vague  terrors. 
f  "  The  new  kittle  biles  iligant,  mem,"  was  Nora's 
greeting  when  her  mistress  came  downstairs. 

"  I  am  glad,"  replied  Miss  Bagg,  reflecting  the 
girl's  jubilant  smile.  Evidently  for  Nora  there  was 
nothing  further  that  the  money  could  do.  "  It 
doesn't  seem  real  to  me,  Nora.  The  whole  thing 
is  like  a  dream,"  continued  Miss  Lydia.  "  I  have 
the  lawyer's  letter  in  my  pocket,  and  have  to  read 
it  occasionally  to  prove  the  reality  of  what  has 
happened." 

Something  in  her  mistress'  face  roused  the  maid's 
imagination. 

"  And  is  it  rich  ye  air?"  she  asked  eagerly,  be- 
ginning to  understand  that  this  good  news  might 
be  more  important  than  she  had  realized. 


MISS  BAG&S  FIRST  PROPOSAL.  45 

"  Why  —  why  —  it  looks  so,"  replied  Miss  Lydia, 
sitting  down  to  breakfast. 

"  An'  will  ye  wear  di'monds  an'  pur'rls  ?  "  asked 
Nora,  her  eyes  very  round. 

"  Oh,  no  indeed,  you  foolish  girl." 

"  Ye  'd  become  'em.  That  ye  would,  Miss  Bagg. 
I  'd  like  to  see  'em  a-sthringin'  around  yer  neck  and 
through  yer  cur'rls,  an'  you  in  a  pink  satin  gown 
a-swapin'  afther  ye,"  cried  Nora,  with  honest  fervor. 

Miss  Lydia  raised  her  brown  calico  sleeve  and 
shook  a  thin  forefinger  at  her  admirer.  "  Go  along, 
silly  child,  and  bring  me  my  coffee,"  she  said ;  then 
she  turned  to  a  neighboring  chair,  where,  as  usual, 
the  Judge's  cage  was  set,  for  he  and  Miss  Lydia 
always  took  their  coffee  together.  "  You  can  have 
oranges  now,  Judgie-boy,  and  bananas,  every  day 
and  every  hour,  if  you  want  them,"  she  added 
caressingly. 

The  Judge  responded  by  barking  like  a  wrathful 
little  terrier. 

"  Tut,  tut,  that  is  n't  pretty,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  in 
her  usual  formula  of  reproach. 

"  He  do  be  awful  aggrava'atin'  this  mornin',"  re- 
marked Nora,  entering  with  the  coffee-pot.  "  He  's 
called  me  rid-hid  over  a  dozen  times  while  I've 
been  gettin'  the  breakfast." 

"  You  must  n't  be  sensitive  about  that,  Nora," 
replied  Miss  Bagg.  "  You  know  I  have  told  you 
that  the  sailor  who  gave  him  to  my  dear  father  had 
bright  red  hair,  much  redder  than  yours,  and  I 
suppose  the  man's  mates  must  have  addressed  him, 


46  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

in  the  terms  that  the  poor  bird  copied,  for  the 
Judge  said  those  phrases  when  he  first  came  to  us. 
In  fact,  there  were  other  vulgar  and  impolite  ejac- 
ulations connected  with  his  master  which  he  seems 
to  have  forgotten  now.  '  Hi,  there,  Carrots ! '  I 
remember,  was  one  of  them." 

"  For  the  love  o'  mercy,  don't  put  him  in  moind 
of  it,  mem,  for  he  do  be  that  shairp  he  '11  hev  it  at 
me  the  very  next  time  he  sees  the  chance  to  shame 
me  before  annybody." 

"  Be  thankful  he  does  n't  swear,  Nora,"  said  Miss 
Bagg  solemnly.  "  That  sailor  man  must  have  had 
unusual  principle.  He  told  my  father  that  as 
soon  as  he  got  the  Judge  he  put  a  placard  on  his 
cage,  and  printed  on  it,  *  Please  do  not  swear  at 
the  bird.'  He  said  he  even  had  to  fight  the  other 
sailors  several  times  on  account  of  his  determina- 
tion." 

"  Ha !  ha  !  ha  I  "  laughed  the  Judge,  with  sud- 
den noisiness,  as  though  the  memory  of  it  all  was 
too  much  for  him.  "  Ho !  ho  !  bless  me  I  Oh 
dear ;  "  and  he  drifted  off  into  a  chuckle  over  his 
coffee-cup,  and  looked  up  at  Nora  with  such  a 
wicked  leer  that  instinctively  she  crossed  herself. 
It  was  her  unuttered  opinion  that  the  Judge  knew 
all  the  oaths  ever  invented,  and  that  it  was  only 
a  part  of  his  cleverness  to  repress  them  in  Miss 
Bagg's  house. 

"  I  have  to  write  to  this  lawyer,"  thought  Miss 
Lydia,  pushing  her  chair  back  from  the  table  and 
sighing.  She  found  herself  too  excited  to  eat. 


MISS  BAG&S  FIEST  PROPOSAL.  47 

"  I  suppose  I  must  tell  him  I  will  come  to  New  York 
at  once.  Who  can  I  ask  to  go  with  me  ?  I  don't 
want  to  be  beholden  to  that  Fuller  lady.  No 
doubt  she  meant  to  be  very  kind,  but  I  think  I  '11 
just  take  Nora.  No  need  yet  to  tell  people  what 
has  happened.  Nora,"  she  added  aloud,  "don't 
say  a  word  to  any  one  about  the  news  I  have  had. 
How  should  you  like  to  go  to  New  York  with  me 
for  a  day  or  two  ?  " 

The  girl's  eyes  sparkled.  "  And  the  Joodge  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  No.  I  think  I  could  trust  Mrs.  Furlong  to  take 
good  care  of  the  Judge." 

"  Just  you  an'  me  ?  "  cried  Nora,  clapping  her 
hands.  "  Oh,  Miss  Bagg,  I  niver  thought  to  see 
New  Yor'rk." 

"  Well,  perhaps  I  will  take  you.  Clear  off  the 
table.  I  'm  going  into  the  other  room  to  write  a 
letter."  And  Miss  Bagg  departed,  carrying  the 
parrot's  cage,  while  her  maid  went  singing  about 
her  work  in  excited  delight. 

Miss  Lydia  took  out  her  little  old  writing-desk 
and  sat  down  to  her  task.  It  was  another  dull  day, 
and  her  shabby  sitting-room  looked  unusually  pov- 
erty-stricken to  her  because  she  now  knew  neat, 
new  furnishings  to  be  attainable.  The  thought 
nerved  her  hand  to  the  execution  of  its  work,  but 
she  had  not  proceeded  beyond  "Mr.  Galbraith, 
Respected  Sir,"  when  she  became  conscious  that 
one  or  more  persons  were  entering  her  gate.  She 
stretched  her  neck  to  get  a  better  view  through  the 


48  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

window,  and  was  surprised  to  observe  two  strange 
men  walking  along  her  garden  path  between  the 
leafless  rosebushes  toward  the  house. 

One  of  the  strangers,  a  short,  stout  individual, 
with  a  red  face,  was  talking  and  gesticulating  in 
an  apparently  angry  fashion  to  the  other,  who 
was  tall  and  kept  his  eyes  bent  on  the  ground. 
In  a  minute  the  shrill  door-bell  pealed  through 
the  house. 

Miss  Bagg  felt  mystified  and  even  a  little  intimi- 
dated. She  called  to  Nora  as  she  heard  her  come 
through  the  corridor,  but  Nora  was  singing  and 
did  not  heed  her,  and  Miss  Lydia  listened  intently. 
All  that  came  to  her  through  the  closed  door  of 
the  room  where  she  sat  was  a  confusion  of  voices 
and  a  bustle  of  feet ;  then  suddenly  the  stout  and 
choleric  little  man  whom  she  had  observed  in  the 
yard  burst  open  the  door  with  great  force,  and, 
entering,  closed  it  and  planted  himself  against  it 
with  such  suddenness  that  Miss  Bagg  uttered  a 
faint  shriek,  and,  flinging  her  desk  into  a  neigh- 
boring chair,  started  tremulously  to  her  feet. 

"  I  will  be  first !  "  exclaimed  the  little  man.  "  It 
is  my  right  and  I  claim  it.  I  will  be  first !  "  and 
he  struck  a  back-handed  blow  at  the  door  he  was 
guarding,  with  such  vigor  that  the  Judge  responded 
cordially :  — 

"  Come  in." 

"  Who  are  you,  sir !  What  does  this  mean  ?  " 
demanded  Miss  Lydia,  in  a  voice  which  trembled 
too  much  for  severity.  Wild  visions  of  seizure, 
arrest,  and  disgrace  careered  through  her  brain. 


MISS  BAGG'S  FIKST  PROPOSAL.  49 

"  I  am  J.  Wilkins.  Jeremiah  Wilkins.  That 's 
who  I  arn,  and  I  suppose  you  are  Miss  Lydia  Bagg ; 
the  niece  of  that  treacherous,  slippery  old  reprobate, 
Jotham  Bagg,  Esquire." 

The  little  man  stopped,  to  wipe  his  heated  brow. 

"  Well,  sir,"  returned  Miss  Lydia,  lifting  her 
head  with  what  dignity  she  could  muster,  "  why 
should  you  come  here  to  insult  him  ?  " 

"  Because  I  'm  a  wronged,  defrauded  man,  and  I 
won't  stand  it.  Do  you  understand  me  ?  I  have 
been  wronged,  injured,  beyond  all  precedent." 

"  Well,  sir,  what  is  it  to  me  if  you  have  ?  " 

"  Because  you  have  done  it,  madam.  You  are 
the  guilty  party.  You ! "  Wilkins  pointed  a 
stubby  forefinger  at  Miss  Bagg,  who  retreated  a 
step,  her  tuft  of  curls  all  a-quiver  with  astonish- 
ment and  trepidation. 

"  Sir  !  "  was  all  she  could  manage  to  reply  to  the 
startling  accusation. 

"  Look  at  me,  madam.  You  see  before  you  a 
gentleman  ;  well  dressed,  accustomed  to  good  liv- 
ing and  to  all  the  comforts  and  many  of  the  lux- 
uries of  life.  A  large  part  of  these  luxuries  have 
been  provided  me  on  trust.  All  the  tradespeople 
who  know  us  were  as  sure  as  I  was  that  my  cousin 
and  intimate  friend  Jotham  intended  to  leave  the 
major  part  if  not  the  entire  amount  of  his  fortune 
to  me.  He  did  intend  it.  I  am  as  sure  of  it  as 
ever." 

"  Why,"  asked  Miss  Bagg,  gathering  her  courage 
with  a  tremendous  effort,  "  should  you  still  believe 


50  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

it  when  my  Uncle  Jotliam  did  leave  his  fortune  to 
me?" 

"  Pooh,  madam."  Mr.  Wilkins  snapped  con- 
temptuous fingers  before  his  empurpled  visage. 
"  He  never  left  a  cent  of  it  to  you.  Did  n't  you 
know  that  ?  " 

"  Then  what  —  why  "  —  chirped  Miss  Lydia, 
feeling  bewildered  and  browbeaten. 

"  It  fell  to  you,"  explained  the  other  wrathfully. 
"  The  forgetful  old  reprobate  had  destroyed  an 
old  will,  and  before  he  had  made  a  new  one  in  my 
favor  —  he  was  always  putting  off  and  procrasti- 
nating —  he  died.  He  meant  to  make  it,  I  know 
it.  The  widow  Van  Kirk  was  sure  Max  was  to  be 
the  heir.  The  Carlyles  and  the  Fletchers  and  the 
rest  expected  to  be  remembered,  and  out  of  spite 
Tom  Fletcher  put  the  lawyers  on  your  track.  I 
know  very  well  he  did.  The  Fuller  woman  thought 
she  should  get  her  baby  hands  on  some  of  the 
greenbacks,  but  I  knew  better.  Cousin  Jotham 
may  have  meant  something  for  Max,  though  I  doubt 
it;  but  I  know  he  never  considered  the  rest  of 
them.  It  was  I,  Jerry  Wilkins,  his  companion  in 
thousands  of  games  of  chess ;  his  confidant,  his 
comrade,  who  he  intended  should  have  the  hand- 
ling of  his  money  when  he  was  through  with  it ; 
and  now  look  at  the  situation.  Here  I  am  loaded 
with  debts,  and  here  you  are  —  a  woman  whom 
I  believe  Jothara  Bagg  scarcely  knew  existed, 
reaping  where  I  have  sown,  rolling  in  money  which 
a  week  ago  I  dare  say  you  never  dreamed  of  own- 


MISS  BAGG'S  FIRST  PROPOSAL.  51 

ing.  You  owe  me  reparation,  madam,  reparation ! 
What  do  you  say  to  marrying  me  ?  I  'm  a  pre- 
sentable man.  I  have  a  good  social  position,  and 
I  will  give  you  the  benefit  of  it.  Together  we 
could  make  a  sensation  even  in  a  city  of  million- 
aires." Mr.  Wilkins  left  the  door  and  advanced 
to  glower  more  nearly  at  Miss  Bagg,  who  stood 
mutely  trembling  and  gazing  at  him.  "Now, 
what  do  you  say  ?  '  As  he  made  this  addition  the 
suitor  paused  beside  the  table  and  brought  his  fist 
down  upon  it  so  close  to  the  cage  that  the  Judge 
was  much  jarred,  and  shouting  "  Come  in," 
promptly  fell  off  the  perch,  which  he  remounted, 
hand  over  hand,  a  certain  sleekness  of  feathers 
and  contraction  of  the  eye  boding  no  good  to  the 
stranger  who  had  so  disturbed  his  equilibrium. 

Wilkins  continued  to  glare  at  Miss  Lydia. 

"  Now,  will  you  do  it  ?  "  he  continued,  after  the 
impressive  pause. 

"  Certainly  not,"  quavered  Miss  Bagg  breath- 
lessly. 

"  Be  careful.  Think  what  you  're  doing.  Take 
time." 

"  Oh,  look  out  for  the  Judge,"  said  Miss  Lydia 
tremulously. 

"  Aha,  the  Judge,  is  it  ?  There  's  somebody 
ahead  of  me.  I  '11  settle  him,"  sputtered  Mr. 
Wilkins  wrathfully. 

"  Oh,  be  careful ;  he  bites  sometimes  !  "  ex- 
claimed Miss  Lydia. 

"Bites,   does  he?"  repeated   the  other,   some- 


52  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

what  surprised  at  so  novel  a  mode  of  obtaining 
t  satisfaction.  "  Well,  then,  so  can  I.  Let  him 
come  on.  If  —  Ow !  wow  !  "  Mr.  Wilkins  ut- 
tered a  long  roar  of  surprise  and  pain,  for  the 
Judge,  excited  and  angry,  watching  his  opportu- 
nity, had  launched  forth  his  head,  snakelike  now  in 
its  slimness,  and  administered  a  sharp  cut  on  the 
stubby  forefinger  before  mentioned.  Miss  Bagg 
uttered  a  shriek  as  the  blood  spurted  forth,  and  at 
the  same  moment  Nora's  voice  was  heard  protest- 
ing shrilly. 

"  Lave  me  in  to  her,  I  say.  I  '11  not  stay  out  no 
longer.  It 's  tommyhawkin'  her  he  is ; "  and  again 
the  parlor  door  burst  open,  and  Nora  appeared, 
wildly  disheveled,  followed  by  the  tall  young  man 
who  had  accompanied  Mr.  Wilkins  up  the  garden 
path. 

"  Well,  have  you  had  your  say  out,  Wilkins  ? 
I  've  kept  a  clear  field  for  you  as  long  as  I  could. 
Hello,  what 's  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Come  here,  sir,  if  you  are  a  friend  of  this 
person,"  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg,  her  thin  cheeks 
coloring,  and  her  mild  eyes  sparkling.  She  had 
wrapped  her  handkerchief  around  the  maltreated 
finger,  and  Mr.  Wilkins,  his  visage  considerably 
paled,  was  holding  it  stiffly  upright  before  him. 
"Come  and  tie  up  this  finger.  Nora,  go  get  a 
clean  rag  and  some  thread."  Miss  Bagg  retreated 
hastily,  and  the  tall  stranger  approached. 

"  Mr.  Wilkins  will  be  better  now  he  has  been 
bled  a  little,"  he  remarked  coolly.  "  My  name  is 


MISS  BAGG'S  FIRST  PROPOSAL.  53 

Van  Kirk,  Miss  Bagg.  I  should  not  have  come 
but  that  I  expected  to  present  myself  alone." 

"Ah,  I  dare  say,"  observed  Mr.  Wilkins,  re- 
viving, "each  of  us  expected  to  present  himself 
alone." 

"  Hold  up  now,"  said  the  younger  man,  taking 
the  roll  of  cloth  Nora  offered  and  proceeding  with 
his  bandaging.  "  You  've  had  your  say." 

"  I  would  have  had  it,  if  it  had  n't  been  for  that 
devil  of  a  parrot." 

"  Ah,  Joodge,  ye  're  the  knowin'  bye,"  chuckled 
Nora,  in  a  whisper.  "  Ye  '11  have  me  fist  full  o' 
paynuts  this  night  o'  the  wor'rld." 


CHAPTER  V. 
MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL. 

"  Now,  Miss  Bagg,"  said  Mr.  "NVilkins,  shaking 
his  dressed  forefinger  at  her  (it  shook  quite  as 
impressively  bandaged  as  bare),  "  tell  me,  if  you 
please,  who  this  Judge  is  to  whom  you  referred." 

"  I  should  think  you  had  discovered,"  returned 
Miss  Lydia,  with  recovered  spirit.  "  If  you  are 
still  curious,  offer  him  another  of  your  fingers." 

Mr.  Van  Kirk  smiled  as  he  leaned  familiarly 
on  the  back  of  the  old  haircloth  rocking-chair. 

«  The !  That  bird  ?  "  ejaculated  Mr.  Wil- 

kins. 

Miss  Lydia  nodded. 

"  Then,  Miss  Bagg  —  Pooh !  nonsense  !  Let  me 
apologize  for  anything  in  my  conduct  which  may 
have  seemed  hasty,  and  let  me  hope  that  you  will 
receive  my  proposition  in  the  spirit  in  which  it 
was  made."  Mr.  Wilkins,  too  entirely  possessed 
by  his  one  idea  to  be  deterred  by  Van  Kirk's  pres- 
ence, approached  Lydia  once  more,  much  more  of 
authority  than  of  supplication  in  his  manner. 

She  thrust  her  hands  out  in  a  repellent  gesture. 

"  Nora,  leave  us,"  she  exclaimed,  scandalized  at 
the  thought  of  her  maid's  overhearing  the  stranger's 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL.  55 

addresses.  The  girl  obeyed  reluctantly.  "  Doii't 
come  near  me,"  she  said  then  to  Wilkins,  excitedly. 
"  Horrible  man,  you  swore  when  the  bird  bit  you. 
I  do  not  care  about  your  debts,  and  I  abhor  you. 
Oh !  "  —  turning  to  Max  desperately,  —  "  whoever 
you  are,  whatever  you  are,  can  you  be  this  per- 
son's friend  !  Won't  you  protect  me  ?  " 

Max  grinned  at  the  disconcerted  Wilkins.  "  Of 
course  I  will,"  he  answered.  "  Here,  Miss  Bagg, 
you  look  tired.  Sit  down  in  this  rocking-chair. 
Good-morning,  Wilkins," — with  a  debonair  nod. 
"  It  is  my  turn  now." 

"  Don't  listen  to  him,"  exclaimed  the  baffled 
suitor,  shaking  his  fist  at  his  laughing  friend. 
"  Don't  let  him  come  around  you.  Jotham  Bagg 
showed  what  he  thought  of  him.  He  showed  his 
opinion  plainly  enough  by  cutting  the  fine  young 
man  off  without  a  shilling.  His  handsome  mother, 
too.  No  doubt  she  thought "  — 

"  Hold  your  tongue,"  thundered  Max.  He  had 
worn  his  amused  smile  all  through  the  first  of  the 
enraged  Wilkins's  speech,  but  now  his  face  was  as 
serious  and  far  more  wrathful  than  Miss  Bagg's 
own.  "You  are  beside  yourself,"  he  continued 
quietly.  "You  have  exhausted  Miss  Bagg's  pa- 
tience and  had  better  be  off  ;  but  if  you  mention 
my  mother  again,  I  shall  save  you  the  trouble  of 
going  out  by  the  door." 

Van  Kirk  came  from  behind  the  rocking-chair, 
and  looked  so  powerful  and  angry  as  he  towered 
above  his  choleric  friend  that  Lydia  emitted  a 
frightened  little  squeak. 


56  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

Wilkins  gave  one  red  glance  at  the  ex-lieutenant. 
"  I  will  go,  madam,"  he  said,  turning  to  his  hostess, 
"  provided  you  will  give  me  an  interview  when  you 
come  up  to  town." 

"  She  won't  promise  you  anything.  Be  decent 
and  go,"  said  Max,  taking  a  step  nearer,  "or 
else  "  - 

Miss  Bagg  started  up,  and  clasped  one  of  his  big 
arms  between  both  her  thin,  little  hands.  "  Oh, 
don't  touch  him,"  she  cried,  "he  is  just  going." 

"  Ah,  I  see,"  said  Wilkins  sardonically.  "  You 
have  your  own  little  game  to  play.  Well,  I  wish 
you  joy ; "  and  he  left  the  room,  slamming  the  door 
behind  him. 

Miss  Lydia  sank  into  the  nearest  chair,  and 
began  to  sob  into  her  handkerchief.  Max  strode 
to  the  window,  and  looked  gloomily  out  at  the  bare 
bushes  and  moist  dead  leaves.  The  varying  states 
of  mind  through  which  this  young  gentleman  had 
passed  since  the  evening  of  the  late  Mr.  Bagg's 
dinner-party  can  perhaps  be  accurately  imagined 
by  the  sympathetic  reader. 

His  grief  at  his  old  friend's  sudden  end  had  been 
sincere.  Such  graciousness  as  was  in  Jotham 
Bagg  to  show  had  always  been  displayed  toward 
him  as  boy  and  then  as  man.  The  rich  speculator 
had  taken  trouble  for  him,  had  shown  constant  care 
of  him,  had  apparently  made  him  one  of  the  few 
deep  and  abiding  interests  of  his  life.  Max  Van 
Kirk  had  every  reason  to  believe  in  the  old  man's 
regard,  even  affection,  for  him.  He  had  believed 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL.  57 

in  it,  and  still  believed  in  it  down  to  the  present 
day.  When  it  became  certainly  known  that  Mr. 
Bagg  had  died  intestate,  the  shock  had  been  great 
to  the"  young  man  and  had  nearly  bereft  his  mother 
of  reason.  She  fought  to  the  last  possible  minute 
against  tho  facts,  adding  by  her  rage  and  resent- 
ment to  the  burden  her  son  had  to  bear. 

He  had  laid  down  his  commission.  The  action 
was  irrevocable.  A  deep  sting  in  the  circum- 
stances lay  in  the  fact  that  his  reason  for  taking 
the  step  was  generally  known  among  his  acquaint- 
ances. Had  the  property  come  to  him,  as  every- 
body but  the  fatuous  Wilkins  believed  it  would  do 
from  the  moment  Mr.  Bagg  requested  the  young 
officer  to  leave  the  army,  general  approval  and 
admiration  would  have  followed  him.  As  it  was, 
it  drove  the  hot  blood  to  Van  Kirk's  face  to  realize 
the  remarks  that  would  be  made  regarding  him 
and  his  position,  until  his  acquaintances  found 
some  newer  topic  of  interest.  The  situation  held 
plenty  of  practical  difficulties,  keen  disappoint- 
ment, and  the  necessity  for  readjusting  all  his 
thoughts  and  expectations,  but  the  mortifying 
phase  of  the  affair  was  hardest  for  the  proud  young 
fellow  to  bear. 

Distracted  between  the  chaos  of  his  own  tor- 
menting thoughts  and  his  mother's  frenzy,  the 
position  was  one  to  show  what  metal  he  was  made 
of,  and  that  the  self-control  he  exhibited  was  some- 
thing astonishing  even  to  Mr.  Bagg's  lawyer  was 
evident  to  Ida  Fuller,  who  happened  to  hear  the 


58  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

respectful  expression  of  sympathy  which  Mr.  Gal- 
braith  made  to  the  young  man  when  the  last  hope 
of  discovering  a  will  had  been  given  up. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  wits  had  all  been  driven  wool- 
gathering by  the  catastrophe.  No  help  was  to  be 
expected  from  her,  and  it  was  Mrs.  Fuller  who  by 
some  adroit  suggestions  to  the  lawyer  set  wheels 
in  motion  which  led  to  Maxwell's  appearance  in 
Ashley  on  his  present  errand. 

As  he  waited  now  by  the  window,  he  was  as 
uncomfortable  as  a  man  need  be.  He  turned  and 
regarded  the  brown  calico  figure,  quite  pathetic, 
topped  by  its  bowed  head  and  the  quivering,  faded 
bunch  of  curls.  Had  he  felt  impatience  or  even 
hatred  of  this  insignificant  woman  who  had  usurped 
his  place,  it  would  not  have  been  astonishing. 
Every  detail  of  the  room  bore  evidence  to  her 
poverty.  Ten  thousand  dollars  would  have  made 
her  rich.  This  half-alive  little  town  limited  her 
horizon.  It  was  hard  that  such  an  one  should  have 
the  administering  of  such  wealth. 

But  Max  did  not  hate  her.  He  felt  a  very  real 
compassion  for  the  slender,  shaken  little  figure, 
mixed  with  hot  impatience  at  the  remembrance  of 
Wilkins. 

He  was  suddenly  surprised  by  the  Judge's  deep 
bass. 

"  You  —  you  —  rascal !  "  exclaimed  the  parrot, 
•with  great  emphasis  and  a  lisp  on  the  s  which 
made  the  visitor  smile. 

"  You  have  a  wise  bird,"  said  Van  Kirk,  coming 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL.          59 

forward.  "  The  way  matters  have  gone,  I  do  feel 
like  a  rascal  to  have  come  here  and  added  to  your 
annoyance  this  morning.  I  certainly  had  no  idea 
Mr.  Wilkins  was  coming,  or  I  should  have  staid 
away." 

Miss  Bagg  put  up  a  deprecating  hand,  and  slowly 
emerged  from  her  handkerchief.  "  Don't  say 
that,"  she  returned  chokingly.  "  What  should 
I  have  done  without  you  ?  I  do  thank  you.  Indeed, 
I  do.  Excuse  me  for  crying,  but  I  have  been  so 
upset — and  shocked  —  and  frightened!"  and  to 
Max's  great  discomfort  she  relapsed  into  the  hand- 
kerchief. 

"  I  ask  your  pardon  for  letting  him  in  to  disturb 
you  so,  for  I  suspected  that  he  had  been  drinking, 
but  the  fact  is,  he  was  so  outraged  to  discover  me 
on  the  train  on  the  same  errand  as  himself,  and 
clamored  so  loudly  in  defense  of  his  right  to  see 
you  first,  that  I  was  anxious  to  show  him  that  I 
had  no  desire  to  interfere  with  him.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  I  sat  in  your  hall  during  Mr. 
Wilkins's  visit,  and  had  great  difficulty  in  persuad- 
ing your  servant  to  remain  there  with  me  until  he 
could  have  his  say  out." 

"  Then  you  knew  what  he  was  going  to  say !  " 
exclaimed  Miss  Bagg  reproachfully. 

"  Not  at  all.  I  saw  he  was  angry  and  disap- 
pointed about  the  will,  and  I  dare  say  he  threat- 
ened to  sue  you." 

"  Threatened  to !  He  did  sue  me,  if  one  could 
call  that  suing.  The  rough,  wicked  creature  !  " 


60  MISS  BAGG'S  SECBETART. 

"What?" 

"  He  wanted  me  to  marry  him,"  said  Miss  Lydia, 
so  excited  at  the  memory  that  she  forgot  she  was 
talking  openly  to  a  man.  "  Oh,  if  money  brings 
trouble  like  this,  I  don't  wonder  the  love  of  it  is 
called  the  root  of  all  evil !  " 

Van  Kirk  smiled  broadly,  Miss  Lydia's  face 
being  again  buried,  at  the  picture  her  words  evoked. 
He  sat  down  near  her.  "  Don't  mind  it,"  he  said 
soothingly.  "  Wilkins's  disappointment  was  too 
much  for  him  and  he  is  a  little  crazy  for  the  time 
being." 

Miss  Lydia  shook  her  curls  and  shuddered. 
"  Well  —  well  —  excuse  me,  Mr.  —  " 

"  Van  Kirk." 

"  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  I  have  not  asked  you  what  you 
wish  with  me."  She  sat  up  with  an  effort  at  her 
customary  self-possession,  and  put  her  handker- 
chief in  her  pocket.  Meeting  her  visitor's  eyes, 
she  realized  for  the  first  time  that  she  was  talking 
to  an  extraordinarily  handsome  man.  She  forgot 
her  gray  hair,  poor  little  Lydia,  and  the  wish  that 
she  had  on  her  best  dress  sprung  as  naturally  in 
her  bosom  as  though  she  had  been  eighteen. 

"My  errand  is  nothing  that  will  not  keep," 
began  Max,  "  if  you  are  too  tired  and  would  pre- 
fer to  see  me  at  another  time." 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  him  with  a  sudden  idea. 
"  You  are  one  of  Uncle  Jotham's  relatives.  That 
—  creature  said  " 

"  Yes,"  the  young  man  nodded. 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL,  61 

"  And  you  are  not  angry  with  me  ?  "  Miss  Lydia 
asked  it  so  innocently  and  wistfully  that  Max  quite 
liked  her  from  that  moment. 

"  Not  so  angry  as  to  demand  that  you  marry 
me,"  he  returned,  his  brown  eyes  laughing  into 
hers,  while  Miss  Bagg  smiled  faintly  and  blushed 
painfully. 

"  It  hurts  my  feelings  and  disappoints  me  to 
find  that  Uncle  Jotham  did  not  think  of  me,  nor 
wish  to  make  me  his  heir,"  she  said  sadly. 

"  Oh,  no  matter  about  that,"  replied  Van  Kirk, 
"  since  such  good  luck  has  come  to  you.  You 
know  Uncle  Jotham  was  not  noted  for  his  affec- 
tionate disposition." 

"  Did  you  call  him  Uncle  Jotham,  too  ?  "  asked 
Miss  Lydia  curiously. 

"  Yes,  although  the  relationship  was  in  fact  not 
a  near  one.  He  has  taken  an  interest  in  me  ever 
since  I  was  a  little  chap,  and  has  done  a  great  deal 
for  me.  I  believe  my  grandmother  was  answer- 
able for  the  fact  that  he  never  married." 

"  I  want  to  know,"  returned  Miss  Lydia.  "  Your 
grandmother,"  she  repeated,  suddenly  feeling  that 
Max  did  not  belong  even  to  her  generation,  and 
that  the  brown  calico  would  do  quite  as  well  as 
anything  else. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  his  attachment  for  her  accounts 
for  his  kindness  to  me." 

"  Do  you  call  it  kindness  to  do  as  that  —  person 
said  he  did  —  cut  you  off  without  a  shilling? " 

"  Oh,  that  was  a  —  that  is  all  right,"    replied 


62  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Max  shortly.  His  endurance  would  not  carry  him 
to  the  pitch  of  telling  his  story  to  this  stranger. 

u  You  knew  Uncle  Jotham,  then  ? "  said  Miss 
Bagg.  "  I  am  not  tired.  I  can  hear  your  errand 
now  as  well  as  at  any  time." 

Van  Kirk  nodded.  "  It  will  not  take  long.  I 
am  sent  by  your  lawyer  as  a  sort  of  general  utility 
man.  Mr.  Galbraith  asked  me  to  come  here  and 
see  you,  thus  saving  his  time,  and  if  you  desired 
it  to  help  you  close  up  your  affairs  here  and  move 
to  New  York." 

"  Move  to  New  York ! "  repeated  Miss  Lydia, 
aghast.  "  You  don't  mean  for  me  to  live  there  for 
good  and  all  ?  " 

"  Tut,  tut !  That  is  n't  pretty,"  remarked  the 
Judge  in  Miss  Bagg's  gentle,  high  voice,  and  then, 
as  his  mistress  and  her  visitor  both  laughed,  he 
laughed  too,  holding  his  breath  and  gasping  in  a 
way  he  had  learned  from  Nora  in  her  hilarious 
moments. 

"  Why,  yes,"  returned  Max,  "  we  all  supposed 
that  a  small  country  place  would  not  give  you  hori- 
zon enough  now»' 

"Oh,  dear,  I  hadn't  thought  I  must  do  that," 
sighed  Lydia,  looking  off  into  space. 

"  Nor  must  you,"  said  Van  Kirk  kindly.  "  You 
are  quite  free,  — gloriously  free." 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  him  wistfully.  "  Would 
you  do  it,  if  you  were  in  my  place?  "  she  asked. 

Involuntarily  the  young  man  looked  about  the 
shabby  little  room  and  out  to  the  village  street 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL.  63 

along  which  no  one  had  passed,  to  his  knowledge, 
since  his  arrival. 

kk  Well  yes,"  he  replied,  smoothing  his  mustache, 
"  I  would.  There  is  a  great  deal  to  do  and  to  see 
in  the  world,  Miss  Bagg,  and  you  will  have  every 
facility  for  enjoying  all  that  wealth  can  purchase. 
Can  you  consider  shutting  your  money  up  in  a 
vault  and  yourself  in  a  forgotten  little  place  like 
this?" 

His  words  set  Miss  Lydia's  heart  to  beating.  As 
her  visitor  was  in  person  and  dress  a  complete 
novelty  in  Ashley,  no  doubt  he  was  a  type  of  grand 
and  beautiful  things  which  she  now  possessed  the 
golden  key  to  unlock  in  the  great  city.  Yet  no 
young  robin  hesitating  and  teetering  on  the  edge  of 
its  nest  was  ever  more  timorous  than  Miss  Lydia 
now. 

She  looked  into  Van  Kirk's  eyes  doubtfully, 
and  clasped  her  hands  with  their  needle-pricked 
finger-tips. 

"  If  I  should  decide  to  go  to  New  York  to  live, 
would  you  stand  by  me,"  she  asked  in  an  unsteady 
voice,  "just  until  I  got  a  little  used  to  it? " 

Max  manfully  repressed  a  smile.  "  I  would," 
he  replied  briefly,  and  Miss  Bagg  breathed  an  un- 
conscious sigh  of  relief. 

"  I  have  a  feeling  as  though  I  could  trust  you," 
she  said.  "  And  I  would  somehow  so  much  rather 
have  your  help  than  this  lady's."  As  she  spoke, 
Miss  Bagg,  with  great  simplicity,  slipped  her  hand 
into  her  pocket  and  drew  forth  the  two  letters, 


64  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

which  had  never  left  her  since  their  reception. 
Choosing  the  one  she  wished  him  to  read,  she 
passed  it  to  Max,  who  opened  it  and  perused  its 
contents. 

As  he  did  so  a  flush  mounted  slowly  to  his  tem- 
ples. 

"Clever,  quick-witted,"  he  muttered,  as  he 
reached  the  signature. 

"Do  you  know  that  lady?"  asked  Miss  Lydia, 
as  she  received  her  letter  again. 

*'  Yes,  I  do,"  returned  Van  Kirk,  and  Miss 
Bagg  noticed  that  he  looked  even  handsomer  than 
before. 

"  Did  she  expect  the  money,  too  ?  "  she  asked, 
anxiously. 

Max  looked  very  serious.  "  No  —  a  —  not  di- 
rectly," he  answered. 

"  Well,  I  would  rather  have  you,"  continued  his 
hostess,  "  if  you  really  have  some  time,  and  would 
be  kind  enough  to  be  bothered  with  me." 

"  Why  not  keep  me  indefinitely  ?  "  asked  Van 
Kirk  suggestively. 

His  companion's  heart  leaped.  She  stammered 
in  genuine  bewilderment.  "  Keep  —  keep  "  — 

"Yes;  Mr.  Galbraith's  main  idea  in  sending 
me  down  here  was  to  offer  myself  to  you  "  — 

The  maiden  heart  bounded  again. 

"  As  your  private  secretary.  You  will  need 
one." 

Miss  Bagg  looked  involuntarily  at  the  spindle- 
legged  bookcase  against  the  wall. 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL.  65 

"I  —  don't  quite  understand." 

"  No,  you  do  not  quite  understand  yet  what  re- 
sponsibilities are  about  to  come  upon  you.  You 
will  have  a  great  many  letters  every  day. —  beg- 
ging letters,  business  letters,  all  sorts  of  letters, 
and  they  will  have  to  be  answered.  Your  accounts 
will  be  complicated.  You  will  want  somebody  to 
keep  them.  In  short,  there  are  a  number  of  situ- 
ations in  your  new  life  in  which  you  will  want  a 
right-hand  man." 

Miss  Bagg  looked  over  at  her  writing-desk, 
where  she  had  laboriously  begun  the  letter  to  her 
lawyer  and  advanced  no  further  than  "  Respected 
Sir."  Manifestly,  if  she  were  going  to  receive  a 
large  number  of  business  letters,  it  would  be  a 
heavy  burden  to  her  to  answer  them. 

"Of  course,  if  you  had  a  husband,"  pursued 
Max,  "  he  would  assume  these  cares  for  you."  His 
companion  hesitated,  and  he  added,  smiling: 
"  There  you  have  your  choice,  you  see,  —  Wilkins 
or  me." 

Miss  Bagg  shuddered,  and  held  out  her  hand 
involuntarily. 

Max  took  it.     "  Then  I  am  engaged  to  you  ?  " 

Miss  Lydia  blushed,  and  withdrew  her  hand. 
"  You  do  use  such  odd  terms,"  she  complained. 

"  Well,  then,  if  you  prefer  it,  you  have  engaged 
me  as  your  servant,  —  your  private  secretary.  Is 
that  a  fact?" 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  her  calico  gown,  her  shabby 
little  room,  and  then  at  the  fine  gentleman  whose 


66  MISS  BAGG'S  SECEETARY. 

inposing  presence  made  all  the  surroundings  look 
meaner  than  ever. 

"  I  am  like  one  in  a  dream,"  she  said,  with  a 
pitiful  sort  of  wistf ulness.  "  You  my  servant !  It 
is  the  most  absurd  thing  I  ever  heard  of  in  my 
life." 

"  I  shall  try  to  be  so  good  a  one  that  you  will 
not  think  you  can  dispense  with  me,"  replied  Van 
Kirk  soberly. 

Miss  Lydia  looked  at  him  with  thoughtful  ad- 
miration. "  One  thing  you  will  have  to  do,"  she 
said.  "  You  will  have  to  see  to  paying  yourself 
enough." 

Max  nodded.  "  We  will  get  Mr.  Galbraith  to 
help  us  about  that,"  he  replied  gravely. 

At  this  juncture  there  came  a  soft  knock  on  the 
parlor  door. 

"  Miss  Bagg,  Miss  Bagg,"  whispered  a  voice 
hoarsely. 

"  Come  in,  Nora,"  replied  her  mistress. 

The  girl  entered,  and  peered  carefully  around. 

"  The  rid  gintleman,  the  little  turkey-cock  man, 
(a  he  gone,  mem  ?  "  she  asked  at  last. 

"  Oh,  yes,  some  time  ago." 

"  And  ye  're  all  right,  mem  ?  "  continued  Nora, 
looking  suspiciously  at  Max. 

"  Quite  right     We  are  talking  business,  Nora." 

"  All  right,  mem.  I  'm  just  ferniust  in  the 
dinin'-room,  if  ye  should  want  me ;  "  and  with  a 
parting  glance  at  Max,  intended  to  constrain  him 
to  continue  his  good  behavior,  she  left  the  room. 


MISS  BAGG'S  SECOND  PROPOSAL.  67 

"  I  see  you  have  one  servant  much  attached  to 
you,"  said  Van  Kirk.  "  Will  it  be  necessary  for 
her  to  follow  your  fortunes  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed.  Nora  goes  wherever  I  do  ;  and 
the  Judge,  of  course,"  turning  toward  her  pet. 

"  Ah,  so  that  is  the  Judge,  is  it?  "  queried  Max, 
rising  and  approaching  the  cage. 

"  Scratch,"  said  the  parrot,  lowering  his  head  at 
the  young  man  invitingly. 

"•  You  'd  better  not,"  put  in  Miss  Lydia  hastily. 
"  The  Judge  is  treach — changeable  sometimes." 

"  I  think  not,  my  gray  friend,"  said  Max,  shak- 
ing his  head.  "  You  have  sampled  Uncle  Jotham's 
possible  legatees  sufficiently  this  morning.  Thank 
you,  I  think  I  won't." 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING. 

VAN  KIRK  was  somewhat  staggered  when  he 
realized  what  would  be  the  first  proof  Miss  Bagg 
would  exact  of  his  willingness  to  "  stand  by  her " 
in  her  new  life.  The  labor  of  conveying  troops 
from  one  point  to  another  on  the  frontier  sunk 
into  nothingness  when  compared  with  the  difficulty 
of  escorting  to  the  metropolis  Uncle  Jotham's  heir- 
ess, her  Irish  girl,  and  her  parrot,  along  with  cer- 
tain not-to-be-relinquished  personal  effects.  Before 
he  parted  with  his  new  employer  that  day,  a  com- 
promise had  been  decided  upon.  Miss  Bagg's  re- 
luctance to  leave  her  home  definitely  was  met  by 
Max's  suggestion  that  she  should  go  alone  with 
him  to  New  York,  see  her  lawyer,  look  about  her, 
and  decide  whether  or  not  she  would  make  the  city 
her  future  home. 

"  For  that  matter,  you  know,  Miss  Bagg,  you 
need  never  give  up  your  cottage,"  he  said.  "  You 
can  retain  it  for  a  country  house ; "  here  he 
smoothed  his  mustache.  "Why,  you  can  run  on 
here  every  few  weeks,  if  you  become  homesick,  and 
take  a  look  at  things." 

Miss  Lydia  gazed  at  him  with  wide  eyes. 
"  Run  on  here  from  where  ?  " 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANTS  SHOPPING.         69 

"  Xew  York.  It  is  nothing  to  do.  You  will  see 
that.  A  pretty  ride  of  six  hours  in  a  pleasant 
parlor." 

"  But  the  expense !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg,  feel- 
ing that  this  was  indeed  a  most  giddy  and  reckless 
adviser. 

Max  sighed  unconsciously.  "That  is  some- 
thing," he  said  slowly  and  impressively,  ""which 
never  during  your  life  you  need  consider  again. 
Do  you  understand  me  ?  " 

Lydia  caught  her  breath,  and  lifted  her  hand  to 
her  forehead  as  though  bewildered.  One  comfort- 
ing, comprehensible  consideration  she  could  grasp. 
She  looked  around  the  room.  "  Then  I  need  n't 
sell  the  house,  even  if  I  do  not  live  here.  My 
grandfather  built  it.  It  is  not," —  looking  at  Max 
with  a  glimmer  of  pride,  —  "  it  is  not  a  cottage. 
There  is  an  upstairs  to  it." 

Her  secretary  caressed  that  very  convenient  mus- 
tache of  his  again. 

"  You  need  not  even  rent  it.  You  can  hire  some 
one,  if  you  like,  to  keep  it  clean  and  well-aired, 
ready  for  you  to  occupy  it  a  week  or  a  month  at 
any  time  you  feel  disposed." 

Miss  Bagg  gazed  at  the  speaker,  and  smiled 
slowly  in  childlike  pleasure. 

"  You  make  it  very  easy  for  me,"  she  said. 

"  That  is  what  you  have  engaged  me  for.  I 
am  to  stand  between  you  and  trouble  henceforth, 
so  far  as  I  can." 

Miss  Bagg's  grateful  eyes  answered  him. 


70  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  think  you  had  better  arrange  to  go  on  with 
me  to-morrow,"  he  continued. 

"Oh,  to-morrow?" 

"  Yes.  You  come  into  Boston  in  the  morning, 
and  we  will  take  the  afternoon  train." 

It  required  some  minutes  to  gain  Miss  Lydia's 
consent  to  the  expedition  under  the  new  arrange- 
ment, as  she  did  not  like  to  disappoint  Nora  ;  but 
when  Van  Kirk  bade  her  farewell,  the  matter  had 
been  amicably  settled,  and  Nora  had  accepted  the 
postponement  of  her  anticipated  travels. 

At  the  door,  as  Miss  Lydia  was  seeing  her 
visitor  out,  he  turned  suddenly. 

"  Oh,  by  the  way,  Miss  Bagg,  have  you  plenty 
of  money  ?  " 

She  colored  and  gave  an  embarrassed  little 
laugh,  but  drew  herself  up  with  a  dignity  born  of 
the  consciousness  of  freedom  from  debt. 

"  I  have  plenty  of  money  for  my  journey,  Mr. 
Van  Kirk,"  she  replied  primly.  She  did  not 
think  it  necessary  to  tell  her  new  friend  that  plans 
for  laying  her  hands  on  the  requisite  cash  had 
been  busily  maturing  underneath  her  curls  for  the 
last  ten  minutes. 

"  Oh,  well,"  he  said  carelessly.  "  I  will  leave 
you  a  little  something.  Some  need  may  come  up 
between  now  and  then."  He  took  twenty-five  dol- 
lars from  his  pocket-book,  and  laid  the  bills  in 
Miss  Bagg's  thin  hand. 

One  more  sunshiny  smile,  and  he  was  gone,  while 
the  calico-clad  heiress,  unconscious  of  the  chill 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.         71 

wind,  watched  him,  as  with  erect,  soldierly  bearing 
he  moved  down  the  garden  path.  At  the  gate,  see- 
ing her  still  standing  there,  he  raised  his  hat  again. 

Miss  Lydia  mechanically  waved  her  hand.  The 
bills  fluttered  in  the  breeze  and  brought  her  to  her- 
self with  a  start.  She  closed  the  door  and  looked 
at  the  money,  counted  it,  folded  the  bills,  and  put 
them  in  her  bosom.  She  stood  for  a  minute  with 
her  back  against  the  door,  and  wondered  if  she 
could  be  dreaming.  There  was  a  flavor  of  unre- 
ality already  about  the  splendid  young  man  who 
handed  out  greenbacks  as  though  they  were  but 
paper ;  who  looked  kindly  into  her  eyes  and  stated 
that  henceforth  his  business  was  to  stand  between 
her  and  trouble  ;  who  called  himself  her  servant ; 
whose  time  belonged  to  her  —  her,  Lydia  Bagg. 

She  roused  herself  with  an  effort.  If  she  were 
indeed  awake,  there  was  plenty  to  do  between  now 
and  her  early  start  in  the  morning.  The  situation 
was  bewildering,  intimidating,  intoxicating,  all  in 
one.  It  was  fortunate  that  Nora's  garrulousness 
caused  Miss  Bagg's  wits  to  keep  pace  with  her 
busy  hands. 

The  following  day  Miss  Lydia  took  a  solemn 
farewell  of  her  family,  after  enjoining  Nora  to 
strict  secrecy  as  to  her  errand. 

"  Be  patient  with  the  Judge,"  she  warned,  hav- 
ing many  misgivings  as  to  how  the  two  would 
get  on  with  no  peace-maker  to  arbitrate  between 
them.  "  Judgie-boy,  take  good  care  of  Nora,"  she 
said  affectionately,  and  the.  parrot's  yellow  eyes 


72  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

looked  innocently  back  at  her  as  he  dropped  his 
head  to  one  side  in  a  sentimental  attitude. 
"Nora,"  she  added  solemnly,  turning  to  the  girl, 
"  I  am  going  to  trust  you  with  two  dollars."  She 
slowly  held  out  the  bill,  and  her  maid  took  it  with 
due  respect  and  awe.  "  You  are  to  buy  fruit  for 
the  Judge  and  any  little  thing  you  may  either  ol 
you  need.  I  leave  it  to  your  judgment  how  to 
spend  it.  I  have  spoken  to  the  butcher,  and  you 
are  to  have  meat  charged  until  I  get  back.  I  shall 
write  to  you  every  day,  and  I  am  sorry  I  can't  tell 
you  now  where  to  write  to  me.  Good-by,  Nora." 

The  girl  kissed  her  mistress'  offered  hand  affec- 
tionately. "  Ye  do  look  that  nice,  Miss  Bagg,  the 
folks  in  the  city  ull  all  be  woirderin'  who  ye  are. 
Good-by,  and  the  saints  bless  ye  and  bring  ye  safe 
home." 

"  No  tears,  Nora ;  no  tears.  I  shall  soon  be 
back."  And  Miss  Bagg  went  bravely  forth,  quak- 
ing a  good  deal  internally,  even  at  some  moments 
almost  to  the  extent  of  wishing  that  Uncle  Jotham 
had  made  a  will.  Had  she  suspected  that  in  that 
case  her  secretary  would  have  been  the  heir,  it  is 
probable  that  she  would  heartily  have  wished  it,  so 
great  was  her  admiration  for  that  princely  young 
man. 

She  could  hardly  believe,  in  spite  of  all  that  had 
gone  before,  that  he  would  really  be  waiting  for 
her  in  the  station  at  Boston,  yet  there  he  was, 
looking  bigger  and  stronger  than  ever,  and  able  to 
fend  off  trouble  from  any  number  of  slight  little 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.         73 

Lydia  Baggs.  The  one  who  owned  him  greeted 
him  gladly,  and  he  took  her  heavy  old  valise,  of 
antediluvian  pattern  and  rubbed  to  a  nondescript 
color,  in  his  gloved  hand. 

"  You  ought  to  have  had  this  checked,"  he  said 
pleasantly.  "  I  am  certain  you  can  hardly  lift  it. 
Is  it  all  the  baggage  you  brought  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am  sure  it  will  be  enough  for  such  a 
short  stay  as  I  shall  make." 

Max  looked  at  her  thoughtfully.  "  Oh,  yes," 
he  replied.  "  Let  us  go  to  the  ladies'  room  a 
minute  and  make  our  plans." 

The  truth  was,  he  wished  to  gain  time.  It  was 
as  difficult  for  Miss  Bagg's  private  secretary  to  ad- 
just his  ideas  to  an  appreciation  of  her  primitive  no- 
tions as  for  her  to  expand  hers  to  a  generous  plan 
of  luxurious  living.  Her  valise  and  her  costume 
had  suddenly  confronted  him  with  new  difficulties. 
He  had  thought  he  wanted  Ida  Fuller  in  those 
days  before  Uncle  Jotham's  death  had  temporarily 
driven  all  romance  out  of  his  head,  but  never  in 
his  most  infatuated  moments  had  he  longed  for 
that  clever  young  woman  as  he  longed  now.  It 
had  been  instinctively  repugnant  to  him  to  find 
that  she  had  written  so  promptly  to  Miss  Bagg, 
offering  her  services.  Now  he  told  himself  that 
as  a  woman  she  had  grasped  the  situation,  and 
understood  how  necessary  such  an  experienced  per- 
son as  herself  would  be  to  the  newly  rich.  If  she 
would  only  walk  into  this  waiting-room  now  and 
take  charge  of  Miss  Bagg  until  they  were  en  route 


74  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

for  New  York !  But  no  such  thing  could  happen, 
and  here  was  Van  Kirk,  and  here  was  Miss  Bagg 
looking  at  hitn  trustingly,  and  as  unconscious  of 
her  queer  bonnet  and  her  queer  cloak  as  though 
she  had  been  five  instead  of  fifty.  Van  Kirk  him- 
self, with  a  truly  masculine  vagueness  in  such  mat- 
ters, did  not  know  what  was  the  matter  with  these 
garments,  but  he  knew  something  was  so  seriously 
wrong  as  to  require  heroic  treatment.  Time  was 
flying  and  precious.  He  would  begin  on  familiar 
ground,  with  the  valise. 

With  a  mental  exhortation  to  himself  to  brace 
up,  he  began  audaciously  :  — 

"  There  is  an  hour  or  so  before  lunch,  time  to 
buy  your  new  valise.  I  presume  you  were  intend- 
ing"—  He  paused  and  looked  blandly  at  Miss 
Bagg,  whose  face  expressed  astonishment  and  hesi- 
tation. 

"  That  was  pa's.  It  is  good  and  strong  yet," 
she  ventured. 

"Yes,  those  things  are  astonishingly  long-lived 
when  they  are  well  made,"  returned  Max  glibly ; 
then  he  strode  to  the  door  of  the  waiting-room  and 
signaled  to  a  hackman.  The  latter  hurried  into 
the  room,  took  up  the  deceased  Mr.  Bagg's  travel- 
ing companion,  and  started  off  with  it.  Van  Kirk 
followed  with  Miss  Lydia.  He  handed  her  into 
the  carriage,  and,  after  giving  an  order  to  the 
driver,  took  his  place  beside  her. 

"  Are  you  familiar  with  Boston  ?  "  he  asked,  as 
the  horses  started.  Miss  Bagg  replied  in  the  neg- 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.         75 

ative,  and  he  continued :  "  I  have  not  been  here 
myself  since  I  was  a  child.  I  received  my  educa- 
tion in  New  York  city  and  at  West  Point,  and  you 
know  they  keep  one  pretty  close  at  the  latter 
place." 

"  Yes,  indeed.  I  know  something  about  that, 
for  there  was  a  boy  went  there  from  our  town. 
It  made  quite  an  excitement  in  Ashley  when  he 
received  the  appointment.  Why,"  —  Miss  Bagg 
looked  at  her  companion  with  new  interest,  — 
"  why,  are  n't  you  in  the  army,  then  ?  " 

"I  have  been  until  recently.  I  only  tendered 
my  resignation  this  year." 

"  You  did  n't  like  the  life  ?  " 

"  Not  in  all  respects." 

"  You  are  not  likely  to  like  any  life  in  all  re- 
spects," observed  Miss  Bagg.  She  had  at  once  in 
her  imagination  dressed  her  secretary  in  a  highly 
composite  but  glittering  uniform,  and  she  liked 
the  effect  so  well  that  she  was  quite  displeased 
with  him  for  relinquishing  it. 

"  I  shall  try  life  now  for  a  while,  at  any  rate,  in 
your  service,"  he  returned.  "Here  we  are," — as 
the  carriage  drew  up  by  the  sidewalk. 

Van  Kirk  helped  Miss  Bagg  out,  and  together 
they  entered  a  large  trunk  store,  where  the  young 
man  asked  to  see  valises.  He  questioned  Miss 
Bagg  and  suggested,  but,  seeing  that  it  was  hope- 
less to  induce  her  quickly  to  make  up  her  mind  to 
pay  the  price  for  such  articles  as  Max  offered  for 
her  inspection,  he  selected  one  and  ordered  it  sent 


76  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

out  to  the  carriage.  Then,  choosing  a  small,  silver- 
mounted  hand-bag  of  alligator-skin,  he  gave  it  to 
mute  Miss  Lydia,  and  paid  for  the  whole  out  of 
his  own  pocket. 

Next  he  gave  an  order  to  the  driver  to  take 
them  to  a  large  dry-goods  establishment,  and  then 
followed  his  companion  into  the  carriage. 

"  I  have  some  money,"  remarked  Miss  Bagg, 
and  Van  Kirk  noted  that  her  voice  was  not  quite 
steady. 

"  Of  course  you  have,  my  dear  madam,"  he  re- 
plied respectfully.  "  That  was  your  money  I  paid 
with.  I  did  it  to  save  time.  Pardon  me,  if  I  did 
wrong." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Miss  Lydia  faintly.  "  You  did 
quite  right.  What  a  pretty  bag  this  is,"  —  looking 
at  the  handsome  little  affair  whose  price  had  nearly 
taken  away  her  breath. 

"  Yes,  you  will  find  it  convenient.  When  you 
repack  your  clothing  at  the  hotel  there  may  be 
some  little  conveniences  that  you  would  like  to 
have  with  you  on  the  train.  We  will  check  the 
large  bag." 

"  You  think  of  everything,"  said  Miss  Lydia. 

"  I  try  to,  of  course,  and  that  is  why  I  am  going 
to  venture  to  advise  you  to  indulge  in  a  warmer 
coat.  We  are  going  to  choose  it  now." 

"  Oh,  my  cloak  is  warm  enough,"  exclaimed  Miss 
Bagg  decidedly. 

Her  secretary  felt  desperate.  "  You  do  not 
know  the  New  York  climate,"  he  returned. 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.        11 

"  I  Ve  always  heard  it  was  warmer  than  ours," 
said  Miss  Lydia. 

"  Well,  I  am  a  New-Yorker  born  and  bred. 
Take  my  advice  and  don't  go  to  that  city  in  this 
cloak.  It  is  not  suited  to  the  place,  I  give  you  my 
word." 

"Well,"  returned  Miss  Bagg  meekly,  feeling 
that  she  was  indeed  embarked  upon  such  strange 
seas  that  it  behooved  her  to  be  thankful  that  she 
had  a  pilot,  and  to  heed  his  advice. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  carriage  stopped  again, 
and  soon  the  oddly  assorted  pair  of  shoppers  were 
confronted  with  the  exceedingly  "  well-set-up  " 
young  woman,  who  would  be  happy  to  sell  them  a 
lady's  wrap. 

To  her  polite  inquiries  as  to  what  description  of 
garment  Miss  Bagg  stood  in  need  of,  Miss  Lydia 
turned  a  questioning  look  upon  Van  Kirk,  who 
stood  by,  waiting.  In  his  absolute  ignorance  on 
the  subject,  his  one  soothing  thought  was  that 
whatever  they  selected  would  be  at  least  modern. 

"  Try  something  on  her,"  he  said  vaguely,  to 
the  saleswoman,  who  followed  Miss  Bagg's  lead  in 
mutely  referring  to  him.  "  Something  suitable  for 
traveling,"  he  added,  under  the  influence  of  a  bril- 
liant inspiration. 

"  Oh,  yes,  something  in  cloth ;  "  and  skillful  fin- 
gers at  once  set  about  divesting  Miss  Bagg  of  the 
roomy  cloak  which  had  been  highly  respected  in 
the  Ashley  Congregational  church  for  many  win- 
ters. 


78  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

The  wraps  Miss  Lydia  tried  on !  The  ordeal 
fairly  made  her  head  giddy,  and  her  fastidious 
companion  was  at  last  pleased  with  a  long,  finely- 
braided  garment  which  entirely  hid  her  gray  gown, 
and  had  its  neck  and  sleeves  finished  with  rich 
fur. 

Van  Kirk  nodded  as  Miss  Bagg  turned  about  in 
it,  and  the  saleswoman's  practiced  eye  discerned 
his  approval  before  he  expressed  it. 

"  I  don't  think  your  mother  could  have  anything 
nicer  or  more  stylish  than  this,"  she  said  glibly. 
"  It  fits  her  so  well,  too,"  etc. 

His  mother  !  Van  Kirk  thought  of  his  mother, 
and  of  the  awful  eyes  she  would  turn  upon  this 
comely  young  person  could  she  have  overheard  the 
latter's  mistake. 

Poor  Lydia  turned  crimson.  Maxwell  cut  short 
the  fluent  encomiums  of  the  clerk.  "  I  think  you 
had  better  decide  upon  that,  Miss  Bagg,"  he  said 
with  great  distinctness. 

It  was  the  saleswoman's  turn  to  be  embarrassed, 
but  she  busied  herself  in  unfastening  the  garment. 

Van  Kirk  inquired  its  price. 

"  Fifty  dollars,"  she  replied. 

"  Oh  "  —  protested  the  lay-figure  faintly. 

"  That  is  about  what  you  wanted  to  pay,  I  be- 
lieve, Miss  Bagg,"  said  her  secretary  with  prompt 
bl; i nd ness.  "And  now  if  you"  —  turning  to  the 
young  woman  —  "  will  be  kind  enough  to  show  us 
where  we  can  find  bonnets."  He  turned  back  to 
Lydia.  "  You  know  how  one  thing  leads  on  to 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.        79 

another,"  he  said,  in  a  low  tone.  "  One  new  gar- 
ment necessitates  another  to  match  it." 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  him,  half-bewildered,  half- 
distressed.  "My  bonnet  was  new  last  winter," 
she  replied. 

"  Well,  if  you  can  find  one  any  prettier,  it  is 
your  right  to  have  it,"  said  this  subtle  young  man. 
"  It  won't  do  any  harm  to  look  at  them,  you 
know." 

During  this  low-spoken  colloquy  there  were 
many  curious  glances  sent  at  the  pair,  and  curios- 
ity was  heightened  before  the  millinery  question 
could  be  settled. 

At  last  a  bonnet  was  set  above  Miss  Bagg's 
tuft  of  curls  which  was  very  becoming  to  her  slen- 
der face.  She  smiled  involuntarily  as  she  caught 
sight  of  herself  in  the  glass,  but  all  the  same  it 
gave  her  what  she  herself  described  as  "  a  turn " 
to  hear  her  reckless  companion  agree  to  pay  eigh- 
teen dollars  for  it. 

"  Where  shall  I  send  these  things  ?  "  asked  the 
milliner. 

"  The  lady  will  wear  them,"  returned  the  well- 
dressed  man,  whose  relation  to  the  countrified  lit- 
tle woman  was  such  an  enigma  to  the  onlookers. 

"  Then  your  other  bonnet  and  cloak  ?  "  asked 
the  clerk  from  the  cloak  department,  who  had  ac- 
companied the  pair  on  their  millinery  quest. 

"  Do  you  care  to  keep  them,  Miss  Bagg?"  asked 
Van  Kirk. 

Care  to  keep  them  I     Lydia  looked  with  horror- 


80  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

stricken  eyes  at  her  secretary.  Less  than  one  de- 
cade ago  the  beaver  cloth  in  that  cloak  had  been 
bought  as  first-class  material  in  this  city.  Was 
the  man  mad  ? 

"  Of  course  I  care  to  keep  them,"  she  returned 
somewhat  severely. 

"  Then  you  might  send  them  home  to  Ashley," 
suggested  Max. 

"  Dear  me.  Nora  would  be  frightened  to  death 
to  see  my  clothes  coming  home  without  me.  That 
would  never  do." 

Van  Kirk  looked  at  his  watch.  "  Write  her  a 
note  to  send  with  them.  We  have  time."  He 
looked  more  critically  than  before  at  Miss  Bagg's 
gray  dress.  He  knew  it  was  not  a  pretty  dress, 
and  though  he  did  not  know  that  it  was  long 
on  the  shoulders  and  shapeless  in  the  matter  of 
"  darts,"  he  saw  that  it  was  somehow  all  wi-ong, 
but  he  did  not  feel  himself  equal  to  the  strain  of 
undertaking  anything  further  in  the  way  of  femi- 
nine apparel.  When  the  heiress  walked  abroad 
she  would  be  wholly  presentable  in  the  garb  they 
had  selected,  and  while  she  was  in  the  hotel  he 
\vould  see  that  her  meals  were  served  in  her  rooms 
until  Ida  Fuller  could  take  his  uncongenial  task 
off  his  hands.  Never  since  he  abandoned  a  mili- 
tary life  had  Miss  Bagg's  secretary  so  fretted  at 
civilization,  so  yearned  to  feel  a  good  horse  be- 
tween his  knees  and  to  see  a  boundless  prairie 
before  him,  as  while  he  sat  martyr-like  on  a  velvet 
euair  and  watched  Lydia  try  on  bonnets.  Now, 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.        81 

while  she  indited  her  reassuring  note  to  Nora,  he 
took  the  opportunity  to  move  away  to  a  window, 
where  he  could  at  least  see  the  daylight.  He  felt 
caged  and  stifled.  It  seemed  to  him  he  had  en- 
dured existence  in  that  buzzing  emporium  during 
an  infinite  period. 

"When  Miss  Bagg  had  finished  her  writing,  the 
young  lady  who  had  sold  her  the  cloak  took  charge 
of  the  letter,  and  Miss  Lydia  told  her  how  to  send 
the  express  package,  and  took  out  her  purse  to 
prepay  the  charges. 

"  And  the  new  cloak  and  bonnet  ?  "  asked  the 
girl  politely.  "Will  you  pay  for  them,  or  have 
them  charged  ?  " 

This  question  found  Miss  Bagg  011  unfamiliar 
ground.  She  looked  around  wildly  for  that  splen- 
did living  bulwark  who  had  promised  to  stand  be- 
tween her  and  trouble.  He  was  not  in  sight.  For 
a  minute  Miss  Lydia  felt  actually  faint.  Sudden 
and  awful  suspicions  overwhelmed  her.  The  long 
monotony  of  her  life  had  been  followed  by  so  much 
excitement  and  novelty  crowded  into  forty-eight 
hours  that  it  is  not  wonderful  that  her  nerves  were 
on  the  surface,  as  the  saying  is.  Where  was  Mr. 
Van  Kirk  ?  More  than  that,  who  was  Mr.  Van 
Kirk  ?  The  lawyer  had  not  in  his  letter  heralded 
or  authorized  him  in  any  way.  What  a  strange 
story  he  had  told !  What  young  man  would  resign 
his  honorable  commission  in  the  army  and  float 
about  ready  for  such  an  odd  situation  as  the  one 
he  had  accepted  with  her  ?  How  gullible  she  had 


82  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

been  !  If  the  statement  that  he  had  been  in  the 
army  contained  a  grain  of  truth,  he  was,  no  doubt, 
a  deserter,  and  now  pursuing  the  calling  of  a  confi- 
dence man.  Of  what  a  confidence  man  might  be 
Miss  Bagg  had  but  a  hazy  comprehension  ;  but  she 
knew  the  fraternity  practiced  upon  country  people 
solely.  Miss  Lydia  did  not  stop  to  consider  what 
advantage  the  plausible  young  man  could  gain  by 
his  transactions  with  her  up  to  the  present  hour. 
She  was  the  victim  of  a  momentary  unreasoning 
panic,  in  which  she  feared  that  she  had  been 
trapped,  that  he  had  disappeared  and  deserted  her, 
and  that  she  was  about  to  be  disgraced  before  these 
civil  young  women ;  that  if  she  were  not  accused 
of  fake  pretenses  and  arrested,  that  Mr.  Galbraith, 
the  unknown  lawyer,  would  reproach  her  for  her 
course.  Indeed,  it  would  take  too  long  to  relate 
all  the  distracting  thoughts  which  possessed  Miss 
Bagg  in  the  long  half-minute  that  followed  the 
saleswoman's  query. 

"  You  are  not  well,"  said  the  latter,  perceiving 
her  pallor.  "Sit  down.  I  will  call  the  gentle- 
man." But  even  as  the  young  woman  spoke,  Miss 
Bagg  saw  something  which  drove  color  back  to 
her  face  and  remorse  to  her  heart.  It  was  the 
tall  figure  of  her  secretary  walking  toward  her. 

"  I  am  quite  well.  Don't  say  anything,"  she 
exclaimed  in  a  hurried,  low  tone. 

Again  Van  Kirk  produced  what  to  Miss  Bagg 
began  to  seem  a  Fortunatus's  purse,  and  while  he 
paid  for  her  finery  she  dressed  herself  in  it.  When 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.         83 

they  next  entered  their  carriage,  such  is  the  magic 
effect  of  fine  feathers,  there  was  no  external  in- 
congruity in  their  companionship. 

They  drove  to  the  Adams  House,  and  there 
Miss  Bagg  was  installed  in  a  pleasant  room,  where, 
Max  told  her,  after  she  had  rested  for  half  an  hour 
a  lunch  would  be  served  to  them. 

She  spent  the  half  hour  while  he  left  her  alone 
in  scolding  herself  for  her  temporary  distrust  of 
him ;  yet  from  time  to  time  up  would  spring  an- 
other question,  as  to  why,  if  he  were  respectable, 
he  should  have  been  free  to  offer  himself  to  her 
service ;  and  following  this  would  come  the  thought 
that  perhaps  she  had  now  seen  the  last  of  him. 

The  fine  new  valise  stood  in  a  corner  of  the 
room,  beside  that  of  her  father. 

"  I  am  the  most  absurd,  foolish  woman  in  the 
world,"  she  declared,  half-aloud,  as  she  looked  at 
it,  "  and  the  most  ungrateful."  She  rose  from  the 
lounge  where  she  had  been  lying,  and,  crossing 
the  room,  inspected  herself  in  the  glass,  examining 
for  the  first  time  her  gray  hairs  and  the  fine 
wrinkles  which,  though  inconspicuous,  were  still 
wrinkles. 

"  The  young  woman  thought  I  was  his  mother," 
she  reflected.  "  To  think  I  might  be  the  mother 
of  a  fine  man  like  him !  He  must  be  twenty-five. 
If  this  is  really  I,  and  that  cloak  and  bonnet  and 
valise  and  bag  and  private  secretary  are  really 
mine,  I  ought  to  show  myself  a  woman  of  some 
strength  of  mind,  and  not  let  my  heart  go  jumping 
about  so. " 


84  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Miss  Lydia  dropped  her  face  in  her  hands,  and 
breathed  a  very  heartfelt  little  prayer  for  strength. 
So  far  her  change  oif  fortune  had  brought  her 
more  excitement  than  happiness,  and  anticipation 
of  the  coming  days  in  New  York  weighed  upon 
her  mind. 

At  the  appointed  time  Van  Kirk  allayed  her 
teasing  doubts  of  himself  by  putting  in  an  ap- 
pearance at  her  door.  His  quick  eye  perceived  the 
worn  look  in  her  face. 

"I  am  afraid  you  have  not  rested,"  he  said 
kindly. 

"  I  am  really  too  excited  to  rest  much,"  acknow- 
ledged Miss  Bagg  apologetically.  "  I,"  —  with  a 
little,  nervous  laugh,  —  "I  have  a  horror  of  lawyers, 
Mr.  Van  Kirk." 

"  Yours  is  an  exceedingly  pleasant  man  to  deal 
with,"  returned  Max  reassuringly.  "  Do  not  give 
him  a  second  thought,  yet.  Any  time  spent  in 
dreading  an  interview  with  Mr.  Galbraith  is 
wasted,  I  assure  you.  Besides,  shall  I  not  be  with 
you,  —  and  you  are  getting  a  little  accustomed  to 
me,  I  hope  ?  " 

The  look  of  good-will  with  which  the  young  man 
accompanied  this  smote  Miss  Lydia  with  such  con- 
trition as  killed  out  all  her  suspicions. 

"  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  you  don't  know  how  ashamed 
I  am  of  myself,"  she  said,  her  voice  unsteady  with 
feeling. 

"  Oh,  no  need  of  that,"  returned  Van  Kirk  in  a 
cheery,  off-hand  manner.  He  could  not  know  the 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.         85 

workings  of  the  little  woman's  mind,  and  her  voice 
sounded  so  alarmingly  tearful  that  he  welcomed  a 
knock  at  the  door  which  signified  that  their  lunch- 
eon was  served. 

"  You  have  no  idea  how  much  better  you  will 
feel  after  a  good  lunch,"  he  said.  "You  must  have 
had  to  take  an  early  start  this  morning." 

"  Yes,  indeed ;  breakfast  at  half  past  six,"  re- 
plied Miss  Bagg,  watching  the  laying  of  a  little 
table  with  the  well-ordered  meal.  She  knew  that 
meals  served  in  the  room  were  extra,  and  her 
habit  of  mind  protested  against  the  proceeding. 
Fortunately  for  her,  she  did  not  suspect  the  reason 
for  this  new  extravagance  of  her  secretary,  and  as 
they  sat  down  to  the  table  she  could  not  regret 
their  privacy,  for  he,  seeing  that  she  was  rather 
depressed,  exerted  himself  to  entertain  her,  with 
perfect  success. 

Miss  Bagg  refused  the  glass  of  sherry  he  offered 
her,  but  enjoyed  a  comforting  cup  of  tea.  She 
did  not  know  she  was  hungry  when  she  sat  down, 
but  the  food  was  tempting,  Van  Kirk's  easy  talk 
amusing,  and  she  ate  heartily. 

In  one  of  the  young  man's  anecdotes  of  army 
life  he  mentioned  his  mother  and  Mrs.  Fuller  as 
being  his  guests  the  summer  before. 

"  That  Mrs.  Fuller  who  wrote  to  me  ? "  asked 
Miss  Lydia. 

"Yes.  She  is  the  daughter  of  my  mother's 
brother,  and  will  be  a  good  and  useful  friend  to 
you,  Miss  Bagg." 


86  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Ah !  your  cousin,  then." 

"  Yes,  and  a  favorite  niece  of  my  mother's." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  know  your  mother,"  said 
Miss  Lydia  timidly. 

Van  Kirk  felt  moderately  certain  that  the  ac- 
quaintance would  be  the  reverse  of  pleasant,  but  he 
only  said  :  — 

"  You  may  not  see  her  at  once.  She  has  not 
been  well  lately." 

"  Have  you  a  father,  too  ?  "  asked  Miss  Bagg. 

"  No.  I  scarcely  remember  him,  I  was  so  young 
when  he  died.  Uncle  Jotham  was  the  only  father 
I  ever  knew." 

Lydia  looked  at  the  speaker  pensively.  "He 
ought  to  have  provided  for  you,"  she  said,  "  but 
perhaps  you  are  well  off." 

"  I  consider  myself  so  in  being  engaged  by  you," 
returned  Van  Kirk,  with  that  inscrutable  smile 
which  had  a  silencing  effect,  for  all  its  brightness. 
"  Now,"  —  pushing  his  chair  back  from  the  table, 
—  "I  will  leave  you  once  more  while  you  attend 
to  your  packing.  I  suppose  you  will  want  the  old 
valise  sent  back  to  Ashley  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  I  will  write  another  note  to  go  in  it 
to  poor  Nora." 

"  Very  well.  When  you  are  ready  we  will  drive 
about  a  little  and  see  something  of  the  city  before 
train  time,  if  you  would  like  to  do  so." 

Of  course  Miss  Bagg  would  like  to.  She  had 
that  whole-souled  reverence  for  Boston  common  to 
the  residents  of  her  State. 


THE  EX-LIEUTENANT'S  SHOPPING.         87 

The  middle  of  the  afternoon  found  a  little  lady, 
richly  but  soberly  dressed,  seated  in  a  parlor  car 
in  the  Boston  and  Albany  depot.  A  new  and  ele- 
gant hand-bag  reposed  in  her  lap,  and  in  the  chair 
next  her  was  seated  a  man  of  imposing  proportions 
and  presence.  As  the  train  pulled  smoothly  out  of 
the  depot  he  caught  her  eye  and  smiled. 

"  Good-by  to  the  old  life,"  he  said. 

The  lady  looked  startled,  and  the  eyes  that 
gazed  at  him  grew  moist. 

He  shook  his  head  slowly,  still  smiling.  "  No, 
nothing  to  be  afraid  of,"  he  continued.  "  Every- 
thing to  anticipate.  I  wish  you  joy." 


CHAPTER  VH. 

MOTHER  AND   SON. 

THE  following  morning  Mr.  Van  Kirk  ran  up 
the  steps  of  a  house  in  New  York,  and  gave  his 
card  to  the  servant  who  answered  his  ring. 

"  If  my  mother  is  not  well,  ask  Mrs.  Fuller  if 
she  will  see  me." 

He  passed  into  the  reception-room  and  waited. 
Almost  immediately  a  light  step  sounded  on  the 
stairs,  and  Ida  Fuller  entered  the  room  with  out- 
stretched hand.  • 

"  What  news  ?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 

"  It  is  all  right,"  returned  Max,  pressing  her 
hand.  "  I  brought  her,  and  have  her  safely  cor- 
raled  at  the  Fifth  Avenue." 

"  What  is  she  like  ?  "  —  again  eagerly. 

"  She  is  a  lady,"  said  Van  Kirk  briefly. 

"  So  much  the  better,"  returned  Mrs.  Fuller 
with  an  air  of  satisfaction.  "  Won't  you  sit 
down?" 

"  Is  n't  mother  going  to  see  me  ?     How  is  she  ?  " 

The  young  widow  smiled  carelessly.  "  She  is 
well  in  body ;  much  to  her  disgust,  I  think,  for 
mentally  she  is  still  much  disturbed.  I  really  do 
not  know  whether  she  is  ready  to  see  company,  for 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  *$ 

when  the  servant  told  me  you  had  come  I  was  so 
eager  to  see  you  that  I  hurried  down  without  going 
to  Aunt  Elinor's  room." 

The  visitor's  eyes  shone.  "  Were  you  ?  "  he 
began,  and  leaving  his  chair  at  a  little  distance 
from  her  sofa,  he  seated  himself  beside  her. 

"  Yes,"  she  interrupted  hastily.  "  I  was  very 
curious  to  learn  the  outcome  of  your  errand." 

The  young  man's  face  lost  its  brightness.  "  Miss 
Bagg  showed  me  a  note  from  you,"  he  said. 

Mrs.  Fuller  smiled  and  flushed  a  little.  "  Yes, 
I  wrote  that  before  your  sudden  departure  was 
decided  upon." 

"  It  seemed  hardly  strange  to  be  confronted 
with  your  handwriting,"  continued  Max,  his  eyes 
still  fixed  seriously  upon  her.  "  I  had  been  think- 
ing of  you  on  my  way.  You  know,  Ida,  do  you 
not,  that  in  all  the  experience  I  have  passed 
through,  the  chief  pang  to  me  has  been  in  the 
thought  of  you  ?  " 

"  Don't  think  of  me,  then,  I  beg,"  she  returned 
flippantly,  smiling  into  the  grave  eyes. 

He  took  her  hand.  "  I  hoped  to  have  so  much 
to  give  you,"  he  said,  his  voice  vibrating.  "  I 
hoped  to  make  you  a  queen  in  station  as  you  are 
by  nature." 

Mrs.  Fuller's  thin  lips  compressed  themselves, 
and  she  tried  to  withdraw  her  hand.  A  slight 
frown  contracted  the  fair  forehead.  "  This  is 
uncousinly  sort  of  talk,  Max,"  she  answered. 

He   gazed  at  her,   perplexed   and   incredulous. 


90  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Uncousinly !  Had  the  glances,  the  smiles,  the 
songs,  the  half -formed  phrases  with  which  she 
had  flattered  him  been  cousinly?  But  her  face 
expressed  something  very  like  impatience.  He 
dropped  her  hand.  She  immediately  flashed  an 
upward  glance  at  him  and  spoke  in  a  changed 
tone. 

"  You  have  no  need  to  tell  me.  I  know  you  to 
be  the  most  generous  fellow  in  the  world,"  she 
said  with  fervor,  and  was  gone. 

In  less  than  five  minutes  he  heard  her  summons 
from  the  head  of  the  stairs.  He  ascended,  and 
walked  into  the  large,  comfortable,  rose-scented 
room  where  his  mother  was  nursing  her  injuries. 
Mrs.  Fuller  followed  him. 

"  Well,  mother,"  he  began  heartily,  approach- 
ing the  easy-chair  from  which  his  parent,  envel- 
oped in  a  voluminous  silk  wrapper,  made  no  effort 
to  rise. 

"  Well,  my  son,"  she  returned,  with  a  sepul- 
chral dignity  which  he  dreaded. 

He  kissed  her.  "  I  am  glad  to  hear  from  Ida 
that  you  are  feeling  well  again." 

It  was  an  unfortunate  beginning.  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk  bent  a  cold  glance  upon  her  niece.  "  In- 
deed? Ida  is  very  kind  to  be  so  hopeful  about 
me.  Do  you  think  it  helped  me  to  recover,  to 
hear  that  you  had  demeaned  yourself  by  going 
down  into  the  backwoods  in  search  of  that  woman, 
who  is  to  live  in  your  house  and  spend  your  money 
while  you  delve  for  your  daily  bread  ?  " 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  91 

Max  seated  himself.  "  I  did  n't  think  it  worth 
while  to  bother  you  with  plans  before  I  went,"  he 
replied.  "  I  knew  you  were  n't  up  to  the  discus- 
sion of  details." 

"  It  strikes  me,"  continued  Mrs.  Van  Kirk, 
with  an  air  of  outraged  dignity,  "  that  Mr.  Gal- 
braith  would  have  shown  better  taste  and  more 
courtesy  to  have  gone  himself,  or  chosen  some  one 
besides  you  —  you  of  all  people  —  to  send  on  such 
an  errand." 

"  Oh,  I  had  nothing  else  to  do,"  said  Max 
carelessly.  "  I  was  knocking  about,  a  nuisance  to 
myself  and  everybody  else.  I  was  just  the  man 
for  the  undertaking.  At  least,  I  flatter  myself 
that  I  carried  it  out  very  well." 

"  You  found  the  creature  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk. 

44  Yes,  found  her  without  any  trouble,  for,  Mr. 
Galbraith  having  taken  all  precautions  to  identify 
her,  I  knew,  of  course,  where  she  was." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  waved  her  hand  haughtily. 
"The  whole  affair  is  too  outrageous  to  discuss," 
she  said. 

44  Very  well,  we  won't  discuss  it.  I  must  go  on 
now  to  Mr.  Galbraith's.  I  stopped  here  first,  not 
knowing  but  that  you  were  quite  recovered  and 
would  like  to  drive  over  to  the  hotel  and  call  on 
Miss  Bagg." 

44  Maxwell  Van  Kirk !  "  —  in  awful  tones  of  sur- 
prise. "Did  you  bring  that  woman  back  with 
you?" 


92  MIS8  BAGG'S  SECEETAEY. 

"  Certainly  ;  that  was  my  errand/' 

"  And  you  thought  I  would  call  on  her,  would 
recognize  her  ?  " 

"I  supposed  you  would,  of  course,  under  the 
circumstances." 

"  Max  says  she  is  a  lady,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Fuller. 

"  Absurd !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  her  nos- 
trils dilating. 

"  I  must  tell  you,"  continued  her  son,  "  that  I 
have  gone  into  business  relations  with  her.  We 
have  agreed  that  I  shall  be  her  secretary." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  looked  in  blank  indignation  and 
amaze  from  him  to  his  cousin  and  back  again. 
"  Maxwell,  I  cannot  believe  you,"  she  said,  sitting 
erect  now  and  speaking  with  nervous  energy. 
"Where  is  your  pride?  What  were  you  think- 
ing of?" 

"  Delving  for  my  daily  bread,  as  you  remarked 
a  minute  ago.  I  have  the  vaguest  notion  as  to 
what  delving  may  signify,  but  I  am  pretty  certain 
that  I  shall  not  find  any  better  opportunity  for 
getting  into  harness  than  this." 

"  Any  other  way  would  be  better  !  "  exclaimed 
his  mother. 

"  I  think  he  has  done  wisely.  Mr.  Galbraith 
thinks  so,  too,"  said  Ida  Fuller  unguardedly. 

"  Then  you  knew  of  it ! "  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's 
face  flamed.  "  It  is  a  plot." 

"  Mother,  my  dear  mother,"  •  —  Max  rose  impa- 
tiently —  "  for  pity's  sake  don't  be  melodramatic. 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  93 

Find  me  a  better  position  than  the  one  I  have 
taken  with  Miss  Bagg  and  I  will  accept  it  gladly 
—  after  a  while.  I  have  promised  to  see  her 
launched  into  her  new  life."  He  looked  from  his 
mother  to  his  cousin.  "  Let  me  comprehend  the 
situation.  Do  I  understand  that  you  both  intend 
to  cut  Miss  Bagg  ?  " 

"  I  do  not,  by  any  means,"  replied  Ida  dis- 
tinctly. "  I  shall  call  on  her  immediately,  if  you 
think  best." 

"  Curry  favor  with  her,  if  you  like,  Ida  Fuller," 
said  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  angrily  ;  "  but  let  me  tell  you 
I  am  ashamed  of  my  brother's  child  when  I  find 
she  is  capable  of  such  an  action." 

"  Mother,  you  pass  all  limits,"  said  Van  Kirk 
wearily.  "  Do  you  believe  I  am  currying  favor 
with  Miss  Bagg?  " 

The  angry  woman  looked  into  the  honest  eyes,  as 
clear  now  as  when  their  beauty  had  thrilled  her 
heart  as  her  baby  looked  up  from  her  breast. 

"  Oh,  my  boy,  no,"  she  replied  distractedly. 

"  It  is  a  kindness  in  Ida  to  visit  her,"  he  went 
on.  "  She  is  a  woman  of  perhaps  fifty,  who  has 
lived  an  obscure  life  in  the  country,  and  she  is 
overwhelmed  by  the  change  in  her  circumstances. 
She  has  n't  the  right  clothes  to  appear  in.  She 
needs  a  woman's  help.  I  give  you  my  word  I 
had  an  awful  time  getting  her  a  new  bonnet  in 
Boston." 

Mrs.  Fuller  burst  into  laughter,  and  Mrs.  Yau 
Kirk,  after  one  final  stare,  followed  suit. 


94  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Max  had  not  intended  to  be  amusing,  but  lie 
knew  it  was  a  point  gained  to  have  made  his 
mother  laugh. 

"  I  did,"  he  continued,  "  and  I  bought  her  a 
cloak  or  a  coat  or  something  of  the  kind,  too ; 
but  she  needs  a  dress.  I  haven't  said  anything 
about  it.  It  was  all  I  could  do  to  insist  upon  the 
other  things  without  hurting  her  feelings.  Ida  is 
just  the  one  to  befriend  her.  Put  on  your  hat 
now,  Ida,  if  you  can  spare  the  time,  and  come  and 
meet  her." 

Mrs.  Fuller  rose  and  left  the  room.  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk  composed  her  features.  "  Well,  all  I  can  say 
is,  it  is  a  very  odd  state  of  affairs  that  this  woman 
should  have  impoverished  and  crushed  us  all,  and 
that  we  should  turn  around  and  take  care  of  her  in 
this  fashion.  I  can  tell  you  that  it  is  n't  the  way 
of  the  world.  What  caps  the  climax,  though,  is 
that  you  should  accept  service  under  her,  —  service, 
that  is  what  it  is.  Why  evade  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  indeed  ?  "  asked  Van  Kirk.  "  Look  the 
situation  in  the  face.  I  was  completely  afloat  — 
completely  at  a  loss.  Where  and  how  was  I  to 
set  about  getting  something  to  do  ?  I  slipped  into 
this  position  easily,  and  hope  to  fit  it  as  the  square 
peg  fits  the  square  hole.  I  hope  you  will  think 
better  of  your  determination  not  to  meet  my  em- 
ployer." 

"  Ugh !  "  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  lifted  her  shoulders 
in  repugnance,  and  now  Mrs.  Fuller  returned, 
equipped  for  her  errand. 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  95 

Max  looked  at  her  with  admiring  eyes.  Her 
ensemble  was  elegance  itself.  "  Ready  so  soon  ? 
You  are  a  model  woman,  Ida,"  he  said  in  sur- 
prise. 

They  took  leave  of  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  and  set  out 
in  the  raw,  dull  weather.  They  went  first  to  Mr. 
Galbraith's. 

The  lawyer  greeted  them  kindly,  addressing  the 
young  man  with  especial  warmth. 

"  All  has  gone  well,  Mr.  Galbraith,"  said  Max 
cheerfully,  when  they  were  ushered  into  his  office. 
"  Miss  Bagg  is  in  the  city,  and  if  you  will  make 
an  appointment  I  will  bring  her  here." 

The  lawyer  passed  his  hand  over  his  strong, 
smooth-shaven  chin.  "  How  does  she  take  her 
good  fortune  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  with  some  excitement  and  natural  bewil- 
derment. By  the  way,  Mr.  Galbraith,  I  want  to 
request  you  to  say  nothing  to  her  of  my  former 
expectations.  I  did  not  mention  the  circumstances 
to  her,  and  it  will  be  better  for  that  knowledge  not 
to  intervene  between  us ;  for  behold  in  me "  — 
Max  smote  himself  lightly  on  the  breast  —  "  Miss 
Lydia  Bagg's  private  secretary." 

"  Indeed  ?  "  said  Mr.  Galbraith  with  interest. 

"  Yes.     I  offered  myself  and  was  accepted." 

"  At  a  liberal  salary,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  We  agreed  to  take  you  into  the  conclave  which 
should  decide  my  salary." 

The  lawyer  bit  his  lip  and  looked  thoughtfully 
at  the  young  man.  Ida  Fuller's  bright  gaze  rested 
on  the  lawyer. 


96  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  How  would  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  suit 
you,  Mr.  Van  Kirk  ?"  asked  the  latter,  at  last. 

"  I  could  n't  earn  it,"  replied  Max  shortly. 

"  Nonsense  !  "  burst  irrepressibly  from  Mrs. 
Fuller's  scarlet  lips. 

Mr.  Galbraith  drummed  slowly  and  rhythmic- 
ally with  his  fingers  on  his  desk.  "  I  want  to  say 
to  you,  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  what  I  have  never  said 
before  to  anybody.  I  am  certain  that  Mr.  Bagg 
intended  to  leave  the  bulk  of  his  fortune  to  you. 
He  never  said  so  in  terms,  but  the  hints  he  let  fall 
were  unmistakable.  The  last  will  which  he  made, 
and  which  I  drew  for  him,  left  you  a  large  prop- 
erty. That  will  cannot  be  found.  It  is  my  sin- 
cere belief  that  he  destroyed  it,  intending  to  draw 
another  which  should  be  still  more  largely  in  your 
favor.  The  hints  and  remarks  which  I  referred 
to  lead  me  to  believe  this.  He  trusted  you  more 
and  more  as  years  went  on.  He  took  means  to 
discover  how  you  lived  when  you  were  far  from 
him.  He  watched  you,  not  in  the  spirit  of  a  spy, 
but  in  order  to  learn  if  you  were  indeed  as  he 
hoped  you  might  be,  —  a  fit  person  to  bear  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  burden  of  gold  which  shortly 
must  drop  from  him.  When  he  had  satisfied  him- 
self, he  recalled  you  from  the  army.  Now,  he 
would  not  have  done  that,  had  he  not  intended  to 
give  you  something  in  place  of  your  military  pros- 
pects." 

"  No,"  agreed  Max,  "  I  believe  he  did  so  intend. 
I  have  always  believed  it." 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  97 

"  Then  why  hesitate  to  accept  as  large  a  salary 
as  Miss  Bagg  is  willing  to  pay  you  ?  Will  she  be 
inclined  to  be  generous,  think  you  ?  " 

"  She  will  take  what  you  and  I  say  as  law  and 
gospel,"  replied  Max.  "  She  is  very  simple  and 
unsophisticated.  Anything  above  a  hundred  dol- 
lars will  seem  so  large  to  her  that  one  amount  will 
sound  about  like  another  in  her  ears." 

"  Indeed,  indeed,"  said  the  lawyer  thoughtfully. 
"Poor  Mr.  Bagg.  What  would  he  have  said 
could  he  have  foreseen  this  and  known  himself 
helpless  to  prevent  it!  Well,  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  in 
the  light  of  what  I  have  told  you,  you  need  not 
hesitate  to  accept  ten  thousand  a  year,  you  see." 

"  In  fact,  it  would  be  wrong  —  wrong  to  Cousin 
Jotham  —  for  you  to  refuse  that  or  even  much 
more,"  added  Mrs.  Fuller  earnestly. 

Van  Kirk  shook  his  head.  "  Oh,  don't  talk 
about  such  a  sum  as  that,"  he  said.  "  I  don't 
aspire  to  any  very  fine-spun  ideas  of  honesty,  but 
I  should  like  to  continue  to  eat  and  sleep  with 
Tnyself  with  a  certain  degree  of  complacency.  I 
don't  believe  the  position  is  worth  such  a  salary. 
After  a  while  Miss  Bagg  is  bound  to  become 
worldly  wise,  and  I  should  not  wish  her  to  waken 
some  fine  morning  to  the  suspicion  that  she  was 
being  robbed." 

"  You  are  doing  wrong  —  wrong !  "  said  Mrs. 
Fuller  bitterly.  Her  eyes  sparkled,  and  Max  was 
surprised  at  the  feeling  she  displayed. 

'*  I  am  doing  as  right  as  I  know  how,  Ida,"  he 


98  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRET  Mi  Y. 

replied  simply.  "  Wait,  —  I  am  not  going  to  ac- 
cept a  starvation  salary.  Tell  me,  Mr.  Galbraitb, 
not  speaking  as  my  friend,  but  as  Miss  Bagg's  Li\v- 
yer  and  in  the  interests  of  your  client.  You  know 
better  than  I  what  work  her  secretary  will  have 
to  perform.  What  ought  she  to  pay  him  ?  " 

The  lawyer  looked  with  his  sharp  eyes  straight 
into  the  questioning  ones  bent  upon  him.  "  Ten 
thousand  dollars  would  not  be  an  unreasonable 
salary,"  he  said.  "  The  duties  of  a  secretary  will 
expand  largely  in  your  case,  but  I  think  she  could 
get  the  work  well  done  for  six  thousand." 

"  Very  well,  I  will  take  six  thousand,"  answered 
Van  Kirk.  He  turned  to  his  cousin  with  a  humor- 
ous look.  "It  is  more  than  the  pay  of  a  second- 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  army,"  he  added. 

Ida  gave  him  no  answering  smile.  This  was 
not  a  laughing  matter  to  her.  She  loved  this 
man's  beauty  and  strength  with  the  admiration  of 
which  she  was  capable,  but  it  had  not  been  the 
second-lieutenant  whom  she  caressed  with  her 
glances.  They  had  been  for  the  probable  heir  to 
millions.  Now  he  was  voluntarily  repulsing  the 
last  chance  of  winning  his  way  into  her  favor. 
She  was  furious  with  him,  and  had  great  ado  to 
conceal  her  wrath.  It  sparkled  from  her  eyes  and 
lay  in  the  twitching  of  her  thin  lips. 

"Well,  you  must  do  as  you  think  right,  of 
course,"  said  the  lawyer  with  a  sigh.  "  It  is  a 
sorry  business,  but  we  must  make  the  best  of  it." 

"  And  when  will  you  meet  Miss  Bagg  ?  "  asked 
Max,  as  he  rose. 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  99 

"This  afternoon  at  three,  if  it  suits  her." 

Van  Kirk  and  his  fair  companion  came  out 
again  into  the  air,  the  former  quite  unconscious  of 
the  emotion  seething  in  the  breast  so  near  him. 
Ida's  clever  wits  were  working  fiercely.  One  hope 
was  left.  She  would,  when  the  right  time  came, 
disregard  her  cousin's  request  for  secrecy  —  she 
had  promised  nothing  —  and  lay  the  facts  before 
Miss  Bagg,  trusting  to  the  latter's  honor  to  make 
such  restitution  as  she  might  to  the  wronged  young 
man.  Failing  in  accomplishing  anything  by  this 
means,  she  would  hope  by  the  influence  she  meant 
to  gain  over  the  heiress  to  advance  her  own  inter- 
ests to  the  highest  possible  point,  leaving  Max  on 
the  low  ground  he  seemed  determined  to  occupy. 

"You  won't  forget  her  dress,  Ida,"  said  the 
unconscious  Van  Kirk  anxiously,  as  they  neared 
the  hotel. 

"  I  should  imagine  from  what  you  tell  me  of  her 
that  it  would  be  difficult  to  forget  it,"  returned 
Mrs.  Fuller  crisply. 

"It  is  a  kind  of  dusty  color,"  observed  Max 
reminiscently,  "  and  the  sleeves  —  well,  I  wonder 
what  is  the  matter  with  the  sleeves.  Ought  they 
to  be  gored  nowadays  ?  " 

Ida  smiled  reluctantly. 

*'  Well,  if  sleeves  ought  to  be  gored  now,  Miss 
Bagg's  are  not,  and  if  they  ought  not  to  be,  Miss 
Bagg's  are.  See  ?  " 

"  I  shall  see  shortly,  for  here  we  are.  "Will  you 
go  first  and  announce  me  ?  " 


100  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  No ;  she  has  a  parlor,  where  I  am  sure  she 
will  be  ready  to  receive  us." 

Ready  and  eager  to  see  her  secretary  Miss  Bagg 
was  indeed,  for  the  morning  had  seemed  long  to 
her.  She  hurried  to  the  door  at  the  sound  of  his 
voice,  but  the  pleasure  died  from  her  face  and 
anxiety  took  its  place  when  she  perceived  beside 
him  a  slight,  elegant  woman,  dressed  in  a  close-fit- 
ting, black  cloth  suit,  with  a  hint  of  golden  color 
here  and  there,  and  black  ostrich  tips  with  touches 
of  yellow  clinging  close  to  her  jet-black  hair. 

"  I  have  brought  my  cousin,  Mrs.  Fuller,"  said 
Max,  and  Ida  came  forward  with  outstretched 
black-gloved  hand  and  a  cordial  smile. 

"  I  have  introduced  myself  already  to  you,  Miss 
Bagg,"  she  said,  "  in  the  letter  I  wrote  before  I 
knew  Mr.  Van  Kirk  was  coming  to  you.  Of 
course,  as  soon  as  I  heard  you  were  to  have  his 
efficient  assistance,  I  knew  you  would  have  no  need 
of  me  ;  yet  I  wanted  to  be  among  the  first  of  your 
new-found  relatives  to  greet  you." 

"  Relatives  ?  "  repeated  Miss  Bagg  meekly,  into 
whose  eyes  Ida's  black  ones  had  been  gazing, 
while  she  held  Lydia's  hand  and  poured  forth  the 
above. 

"  Why,  of  course,  we  are  relatives,"  said  Mrs. 
Fuller,  moving  into  the  room  side  by  side  with 
Miss  Bagg.  "  It  does  n't  do  to  inquire  into  the 
relationship  too  closely,  but  it  is  there,  Miss  Bagg  ; 
take  my  word  for  it ;  it  is  there."  Ida  laughed 
pleasantly.  "  When  poor  Cousin  Jotham  was  alive 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  101 

we  never  tried  to  work  out  the  cousinly  problem, 
but  accepted  it  as  an  agreeable  fact.  You  and 
Mr.  Van  Kirk  and  his  mother  and  I  belong  to  one 
another;  that  is  enough  to  know."  And  Mrs. 
Fuller  nodded  engagingly  and  took  the  chair  Max 
placed  for  her.  He  was  as  much  amused  as  agree- 
ably surprised  at  this  extreme  cordiality,  for  he 
knew  this  was  a  rare  ebullition  for  the  proud  Ida. 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  the  latter,  fascinated.  "  I 
have  had  no  relatives  for  so  long,"  she  said  slowly, 
the  agreeable  glow  brought  her  by  this  novel  idea 
counteracted  by  the  vague  constraint  she  felt  in  the 
presence  of  this  assured  and  handsome  woman. 

"  Well,  you  will  have  to  submit  to  them  now. 
You  have  inherited  them.  Cousin  Jotham  claimed 
us,  and  now  we  claim  you.  You  must  try  to  like 
us." 

"  I  like  Mr.  Van  Kirk,"  said  Lydia  simply,  look- 
ing at  her  secretary,  who  after  seating  her  had 
himself  taken  a  chair,  completing  the  semi-circle 
around  the  cheerful,  glowing,  open  fire. 

"  Then  you  will  like  us  all,"  declared  Mrs. 
Fuller,  with  graceful  audacity,  "for  we  are  so 
nearly  related  we  must  be  similar.  By  the  way, 
perhaps  my  cousin  has  told  you  that  his  mother 
is  ill.  She  was  very  sorry  to  be  unable  to  call 
upon  you  at  once,  but  she  sent  her  compliments 
and  best  wishes." 

Max  regarded  the  speaker  with  open  astonish- 
ment. 

"  What  pleasant  apartments  you  have,"  con- 
tinued Ida,  looking  about  her. 


102  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Oh,  yes.  Mr.  Van  Kirk  knows  how  to  make 
things  pleasant  and  comfortable,"  replied  Miss 
Bagg  gratefully.  "  There  never  was  such  a  man 
for  thinking  of  everything." 

Ida  sent  a  little  satirical  smile  across  at  Max. 
She  felt  like  rallying  him  on  his  evident  conquest. 
Lydia  seemed  to  her  so  quaint  and  old-fashioned 
and  simple.  Although  Mrs.  Fuller  had  given  her 
as  yet  little  opportunity  to  speak,  she  had  jumped 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  rustic  maiden  would 
be  very  easy  to  manipulate  and  very  grateful  for 
guidance.  Already  she  exulted  in  the  power  she 
should  be  behind  the  little  woman's  throne,  and 
congratulated  herself  upon  her  own  prompt  ap- 
pearance in  the  field  of  action. 

"  How  have  you  passed  the  morning,  Miss 
Bagg?"  asked  Max. 

"  Well  "  —  she  hesitated.  "  I  have  —  I  tried 
to  read  the  story  you  gave  me,  but  "  — 

"But  your  own  story  was  more  interesting?" 
suggested  Van  Kirk  with  a  smile,  as  she  stopped. 

Miss  Lydia  squeezed  her  thin  hands  together  in 
her  lap.  "  I  don't  know.  I  got  to  thinking  about 
the  lawyer." 

"  How  pleasantly  surprised  you  will  be  when 
you  meet  Mr.  Galbraith,"  said  Max  with  hearty 
reassurance,  "  and  that  will  be  this  afternoon  at 
three." 

"  Yes  ?  "  returned  Lydia,  an  excited  color  creep- 
ing up  into  her  cheeks.  "  You  will  come  with  me, 
won't  you  ?  " 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  103 

"  You  have  only  to  order  it,  you  know,"  replied 
Max,  with  a  wave  of  his  hand.  "  Am  I  not  your 
servant  ?  " 

Miss  Bagg  turned  to  Ida.  "  I  cannot  get  used 
to  that,  you  know,"  she  said  naively. 

"  He  has  n't  the  air  of  being  anybody's  servant, 
has  he  ?  "  returned  Mrs.  Fuller,  with  a  little  laugh. 
It  caine  over  her  with  a  sudden  rush  of  anger  and 
amaze,  how  much  this  ill-dressed,  faltering,  insig- 
nificant old  maid  had  deprived  her  of. 

It  was  true,  Mr.  Galbraith  had  said  it,  that 
Jotham  Bagg  meant  to  give  his  wealth  to  this  man 
who  needed  only  the  glory  of  gold  to  shine  above 
all  men  that  she  had  ever  seen. 

It  was  true,  Max  had  said  it,  that  he  had  meant 
the  treasure  to  be  hers  so  soon  as  it  should  come 
into  his  hands. 

Anger,  even  momentary  hatred  of  unconscious 
Lydia,  filled  the  poor  soul  as  the  realization  of  it 
all  assailed  her.  She  felt  that  her  lips  trembled, 
and  she  rose  and  moved  to  a  window. 

"  Yes,  I  shall  go  with  you,  of  course,"  continued 
Max,  "  but  first  let  us  invite  Mrs.  Fuller  to  remain 
and  take  lunch  with  us." 

"  Oh,  yes.  I  hope  your  cousin  will  stay,"  said 
Miss  Bagg  politely,  and  Mrs.  Fuller  turned  from 
the  window  with  a  smile  and  murmur  of  accept- 
ance. 

"  Come  into  the  bedroom,  won't  you,"  added 
Lydia,  rising,  "  and  lay  off  your  bonnet  ?  " 

"  Meanwhile  I  will  go  and  order  luncheon,"  said 


104  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Max,  also  rising,  and  as  he  left  the  room  he  met 
his  cousin's  eye  with  a  glance  which  conjured  her 
not  to  forget  what  he  had  brought  her  there  for. 
Mrs.  Fuller  felt  somewhat  hysterical.  There  was 
something  ridiculous  in  the  situation,  but  she 
turned  from  its  humorous  aspect  with  decision. 
She  meant  to  make  it  a  serious  and  serviceable 
situation  for  herself. 

Miss  Bagg  led  her  into  the  sleeping-room  ad- 
joining, and  stood  by  while  the  young  woman  re- 
moved her  bonnet. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  make  the  Fifth  Avenue  your 
home  for  the  winter  ?  "  asked  Ida. 

"  No,  no,  indeed.  That  is,  I  have  n't  thought 
anything  about  it.  Of  course  I  don't  know,  but 
it  never  seemed  to  me  that  one  could  have  a  home- 
feeling  in  a  hotel." 

"  You  are  quite  right,  I  am  sure.  Have  you 
been  accustomed  to  housekeeping?" 

"  Yes.  I  have  kept  house  ever  since  my  sister 
died,  fifteen  years  ago.  I  don't  think  I  could  be 
contented  to  board.  I  have  been  very  happy  in 
my  little  home."  Miss  Bagg  breathed  an  un- 
conscious sigh.  The  uncertainty  and  uneasiness 
which  always  assailed  her  in  these  new  surround- 
ings when  Max  was  out  of  sight  was  not  lessened 
by  the  presence  of  this  fine  lady  whose  rings 
sparkled  beautifully  as  she  pulled  off  her  gloves. 
Oh,  peaceful  Ashley !  When  would  she  again 
behold  it  ? 

"  Then  you  are  not  alone  in  the  world,"  hazarded 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  105 

Ida,  with  a  sensation  of  disappointment.  Strangely, 
it  had  not  occurred  to  her  that  this  spinster  might 
have  near  and  dear  ones  who  would  enter  with  her 
into  her  kingdom.  Why  had  she  not  thought  to 
question  Max  about  this  ? 

"  No,  indeed,"  returned  Miss  Bagg.  "  I  have 
Nora  and  the  Judge.  How  they  are  missing 
me !  " 

The  mention  of  the  Judge  was  even  more  dis- 
concerting to  Mrs.  Fuller  than  it  had  been  to  Mr. 
Wilkins.  A  man  other  than  Max  in  connection 
with  Miss  Bagg's  affairs  would  be  surely  subver- 
sive of  the  enterprising  widow's  plans.  She  looked 
blank  for  a  moment,  but  quickly  recovered  her- 
self. 

"  Oh,  well,  you  have  a  pleasant  set  of  duties  be- 
fore you,"  she  said  brightly,  "  shopping  and  house- 
hunting ;  and  I  flatter  myself  that  I  can  really  be 
of  service  to  you  in  both  lines.  Do  you  think  you 
will  prefer  a  house,  or  an  apartment  ?  " 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  her  with  patient  inquiry. 
"  Oh,  I  don't  believe  I  would  try  to  live  in  one 
room,"  she  said.  "  It  would  n't  be  necessary  — 
that  is,  Mr.  Van  Kirk  said  I  could  afford  "  — 
,  "Ah!  pardon  me.  I  meant  to  suggest  a  flat. 
For  a  very  small  family  —  say,  of  three  —  one 
can  find  a  great  deal  of  comfort  in  a  well-chosen 
flat." 

"  Oh,  is  that  it  ?  A  flat,"  echoed  Miss  Bagg 
thoughtfully.  "  I  will  think  about  it." 

They  returned  to  the  other  room  and  sat  down 


106  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

before  the  fire,  Mrs.  Fuller,  as  her  hostess  pre- 
ceded her,  bending  a  scornful  and  scrutinizing  g:ize 
on  the  gray  gown  which  was  influencing  the  heir- 
ess' secretary  to  have  their  luncheon  served  in  her 
parlor. 

"  I  suppose,  Miss  Bagg,"  she  began  archly, 
"  you  have  enough  of  woman's  weakness  to  have 
counted  upon  selecting  some  new  gowns  as  one  of 
the  pleasures  of  coming  to  New  York  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,  I  did  not.  I  did  not  count  upon 
any  pleasure  in  coming  to  New  York ;  that  is," 
—  afraid  she  had  been  ungracious,  —  "this  is  a 
business  trip,  you  know." 

"Yes,  but  when  you  have  seen  Mr.  Galbraith, 
and  business  is  quite  off  your  mind,  you  must  let 
me  show  you  some  of  our  shops.  We  are  very 
proud  of  them,  I  assure  you." 

"  We  were  in  an  elegant  store  in  Boston,"  ob- 
served Miss  Bagg.  "  Mr.  Van  Kirk  did  n't  think 
the  cloak  I  had  was  suited  to  this  climate,  he  is  so 
thoughtful,  and  we  bought  another  and  a  bonnet. 
I  shall  never  go  shopping  with  him  again,  though," 
added  Lydia  with  a  little  laugh.  "  I  should  n't 
dare  tell  you  what  we  paid  for  those  things." 

"  I  dare  say,"  remarked  Mrs.  Fuller,  smiling  at 
the  fire.  "  A  man  cannot  be  expected  to  have 
much  judgment  in  such  matters.  Let  me  help 
you  about  your  dresses,  —  that  is,  if  you  will  ac- 
cept my  help.  I  think  two  heads  are  better  than 
one  in  every  case ;  I  know  I  cannot  bear  to  select 
a  gown  alone." 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  107 

"  I  had  n't  thought  of  needing  a  new  dress,"  said 
Lydia  doubtfully. 

"  But,  dear  Miss  Bagg,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Fuller, 
gently,  "  you  will,  of  course,  wish  to  go  into 
mourning." 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  that,"  admitted  Lydia. 
"  You  see  my  new  bonnet  is  all  black." 

"  Yes,  but  that  coat  and  bonnet  are  not  mourn- 
ing. I  will  help  you  "  — 

"  I  do  not  believe  in  crape,"  declared  Miss  Bagg, 
so  decidedly  that  Ida  could  not  continue.  "  I 
think  it  would  be  respectful,  though,  to  Uncle 
Jotham  for  me  to  wear  a  black  dress." 

"You  could  hardly  do  otherwise.  Your  posi- 
tion, Miss  Bagg,  will  demand  certain  changes  and 
concessions  which,  of  course,  you  will  be  glad  to 
make."  Ida's  impressive  tone  and  vague  sugges- 
tions were  discomforting  to  Lydia.  "  What  did 
very  well  for  you  a  month  ago  will  not  do  for  you 
now,  believe  me,"  continued  the  widow.  "  Mr. 
Van  Kirk  will  tell  you  the  same  thing.  Ah,  I 
think  I  hear  his  step  now." 

Max  knocked  and  entered.  Mrs.  Fuller  at  once 
addressed  him. 

"  Miss  Bagg  and  I  are  planning  a  little  shop- 
ping expedition  for  to-morrow  morning,"  she  an- 
nounced. 

"  Very  well,"  he  returned,  "  and  now  I  hope 
you  both  have  good  appetites,  for  luncheon  will 
be  served  at  once," 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MISS   BAGG  IS   TRANSPLANTED. 

NOT  even  the  hasty  notes  of  reassurance  and 
explanation  which  Miss  Bagg  sent  home  with  her 
discarded  possessions  could  inspire  perfect  con- 
fidence in  Nora  that  all  was  well  with  her  beloved 
mistress.  There  was  a  certain  gruesomeness 
about  the  collapsed  valise,  whose  sides  she  had  re- 
cently beheld  so  importantly  full,  and  a  mournful 
significance  in  the  limp  cloak  and  the  bonnet, 
which  she  had  long  been  accustomed  to  respect 
whether  reposing  in  state  on  the  shelf  in  the  spare- 
room  closet,  or  adorning  Miss  Bagg  on  solemn  or 
festive  occasions.  How  eloquent  of  the  absent 
one  was  every  button  and  bow !  Nora  handled 
the  articles  with  awe,  and  gave  her  head  many  a 
shake  as  she  restored  them  to  their  closet,  feeling 
when  she  had  closed  the  door  as  though  there  had 
been  a  funeral  in  the  house. 

"  Sure  I  wish  her  safe  home,"  she  muttered.  It 
seemed  to  her  the  Judge  had  never  been  so  prone 
as  now  to  loud  and  discordant  laughter,  to  bark- 
ing, mewing,  cackling  and  otherwise  comporting, 
himself  unlike  a  Christian.  His  lack  of  sympa- 
thetic feeling  constrained  Nora  to  keep  the  door 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.          109 

closed  between  his  part  of  the  house  and  hers  as 
much  as  possible. 

Neighbors  dropped  in  in  numbers  when  it  be- 
came noised  abroad  that  Miss  Bagg  had  done  so 
unprecedented  a  thing  as  to  go  on  an  unannounced 
journey.  Her  sister- women  felt  justly  incensed 
that  she  had  not  confided  in  any  one,  nor  shared 
her  anticipations  with  a  single  soul.  There  were 
rumors  afloat  of  a  strange  man  who  had  been  ob- 
served going  to  and  from  the  Bagg  dwelling,  and 
other  rumors  that,  subsequent  to  Miss  Bagg's  clan- 
destine departure,  large,  mysterious  parcels  had 
arrived  for  Nora  at  the  express  office.  When  it 
was  discovered  that  no  amount  of  neighborly  drop- 
ping in  and  questioning  could  elicit  more  from  the 
Irish  girl  than  that  her  mistress  had  gone  away  on 
business,  and  when  argus  eyes  perceived  Nora's 
depression,  some  even  claiming  to  have  observed 
her  furtively  wiping  away  tears,  tongues  wagged 
furiously,  and  it  was  unanimously  decided  that 
whatever  might  be  the  outcome  and  explanation  of 
Lydia  Bagg's  conduct,  for  the  present  it  did  not 
look  well ! 

At  last  Miss  Bagg  had  been  gone  six  days,  and 
her  neighbors,  having  given  up  the  hopeless  task  of 
interviewing  Nora,  were  in  a  feverish  state  of  curi- 
osity. The  girl  could  not  be  induced  to  disclose 
even  the  contents  of  the  tantalizing  packages. 

She  had  been  so  cunningly  cajoled  and  plied 
that  she  felt  at  bay,  and  scowled  when  on  Satur- 
day morning  she  heard  the  door-bell  ring.  Still 


110  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

frowning,  she  opened  the  door,  and  beheld  no  less  a 
personage  than  Mrs.  Judge  Spencer,  who  lived  hi 
Boston  a  part  of  every  year,  and  whose  visits  were 
matters  held  in  high  esteem  even  by  Miss  Bagg, 
whose  position  every  one  knew  had  always  been 
unimpeachable  in  Ashley  society,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  she  was  willing  often  to  accommodate  her 
neighbors  by  doing  some  of  their  family  sewing. 

"  Good  morning,  Nora,"  said  the  great  lady 
pleasantly.  "  I  was  driving  by,  and  I  stopped  to 
ask  a  few  questions." 

The  giiTs  lips  tightened.  It  would  be  serious 
business  to  oppose  Mrs.  Spencer,  but  the  faithful 
soul  knew  no  compromise. 

"  I  have  been  hearing  all  sorts  of  crazy  stories 
about  Miss  Bagg,"  continued  the  visitor.  "  When 
did  she  leave  town  ?  " 

"  Last  Monday,  mem.  She  went  on  business, 
mem." 

"  Is  she  in  any  trouble  ?  "  Mrs.  Spencer  looked 
into  the  girl's  eyes  with  a  different  expression 
from  that  which  Nora  had  lately  observed  in  the 
faces  of  her  interlocutors.  Something  in  the  ques- 
tioner's directness  and  sympathy  touched  the  soft 
heart. 

"  I  guess  not,  mem."  Nora's  eyes  moistened. 
"  I  had  a  short  letter  from  her  this  mornin',  mem, 
and  she  said  she  was  nervous  and  busy,  but  she 
did  n't  say  she  was  n't  well,  nor  she  did  n't  say 
she  was  in  trouble." 

"  That  is  good.     She  is  naturally  nervous  and 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.  Ill 

busy  at  such  a  time.  It  must  all  be  very  exciting  to 
her.  Did  she  tell  you  before  she  went  away  of  any 
change,  a  great  change  which  has  come  to  her  ?  " 

Nora  looked  at  the  visitor  with  quick  suspicion. 
Perhaps  this  was  but  a  new  manner  of  effort  to 
extract  her  knowledge  from  her. 

Mrs.  Spencer  smiled.  "  I  see  you  do  know,"  she 
added,  "  and  I  dare  say  you  have  been  greatly  cross- 
questioned.  I  know  all  about  it,  as  the  lawyers 
applied  to  my  husband  for  help  in  the  matter." 

Nora  breathed  freely.  "  I  'm  glad  ye  do  know, 
mem,"  she  replied,  with  evident  relief. 

"  We  are  likely  to  see  a  change  in  Miss  Bagg's 
way  of  living.  I  wanted  to  say  to  you,  Nora,  that 
if  circumstances  separate  you  from  Miss  Bagg  I 
shall  have  a  place  for  you  in  my  house.  I  know 
you  have  been  well  trained." 

"  Oh,  mem,  I  could  n't  leave  her,"  exclaimed 
poor  Nora,  in  wide-eyed  dismay. 

"  And  I  hope  you  will  not  have  to  ;  but  in  case 
circumstances  make  it  necessary,  why,  come  to  me. 
Good-by,  Nora;"  and  Mrs.  Spencer  departed  to 
her  phaeton,  leaving  Miss  Bagg's  maid  in  a  con- 
siderably more  lachrymose  condition  than  before. 
Happily  the  arrival  of  Miss  Lydia  herself  that 
afternoon  cut  short  Nora's  fiery  trial  from  inquis- 
itiveness  without  and  depressing  apprehensions 
within. 

She  had  just  been  mending  the  parlor  fire  to  a 
running  accompaniment  of  the  parrot's  irrelevant 
comments,  when,  turning  around,  she  saw  her  mis* 
tress  open  the  gate. 


112  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  It'  s  her!  It' s  her  I  "  exclaimed  the  girl  with 
sudden  delight,  and  she  ran  to  open  the  door,  and 
flew  down  the  path,  waving  her  arms  and  express- 
ing j°y  *n  every  feature.  Miss  Bagg  smiled,  as 
well  she  might,  submitting  to  have  her  gloved 
hands  clasped  and  kissed  with  fervor. 

"  And  ye  're  all  right!  Ye  're  all  right !  "  cried 
Nora,  beaming,  as  she  followed  Miss  Bagg  into  the 
house. 

"  Yes,  I  am  all  right,  and  how  is  the  Judge  ? 
How  are  you,  Judgie  ?  "  Miss  Lydia  entered  the 
parlor  and  advanced  to  the  cage,  where  the  parrot 
bit  the  wires  and  climbed  and  chattered,  showing 
in  his  way  as  much  excitement  as  Nora. 

Lydia  began  to  take  off  her  gloves,  and  turned 
back  to  her  maid. 

"  I  gave  you  a  surprise,  did  n't  I  ?  I  feel  as  if  I 
had  been  gone  a  year." 

The  girl  stared  at  her  in  curious,  admiring, 
dumb  amazement.  It  was  as  though  the  discarded 
habiliments  over  which  she  had  wept  had  indeed 
been  a  husk,  out  of  which  Miss  Bagg  had  slipped,  a 
transformed  creature. 

"  Ye  look  iligant,"  she  said  at  last,  touching 
her  mistress'  rich  furs  with  one  reverent  red  fin- 
ger. "  Mrs.  Spincer  has  n't  got  the  like  o'  thim." 

"  How  strange !  How  strange  !  "  said  Miss 
Bagg,  looking  about  her.  "  Is  this  the  room  I  left 
one  little  week  ago  ?  " 

"  Why,  what 's  wrong  with  it,  mem  ?  "  asked 
Nora  anxiously. 


3//.S.S  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.  113 

"  It  is  a  very  little  room,"  said  Lydia  pensively, 
"  and  it  is  very  shabby,  indeed.  Yet  shall  I  be 
any  happier  ?  Who  knows  ?  " 

"  Happier  how,  Miss  Bagg  ?  " 

"  To  leave  it  all  and  live  in  New  York." 

"  Will  ye  do  that,  mein  ? "  cried  the  girl  ap- 
prehensively. 

"  Yes,  I  expect  to  do  that." 

"  Oh,  take  me,  take  me,  Miss  Bagg  !  Don't  ye 
lave  me,  oh,  don't!  Mrs.  Spincer  wants  me,  but 
I  '11  die  without  ye.  Oh,  take  me  with  ye,  do  take 
me  ! "  begged  Nora,  wild  and  trembling  with  ex- 
citement at  her  mistress'  changed  appearance  and 
the  vague  wonders  in  the  air. 

"  Why,  you  poor  silly  child,  of  course  I  shall 
take  you.  What  idea  has  possession  of  you  ? 
What  is  this  about  Mrs.  Spencer  ?  Sit  down  and 
tell  me  about  it." 

At  this  Nora  began  to  control  her  sudden  sob- 
bing, and,  obediently  seating  herself,  gave  her  mis- 
tress an  account  of  the  excitement  her  departure 
had  caused  in  town,  ending  with  the  interview  of 
the  morning  between  herself  and  Mrs.  Spencer. 

"  You  have  been  a  good,  faithful  girl,"  said 
Miss  Bagg  approvingly,  when  the  story  was  fin 
ished.  "  Mrs.  Spencer  meant  very  kindly,  but  I 
could  n't  think  of  giving  you  up." 

She  gazed  into  her  maid's  flushed,  grateful  face. 
"  New  York  is  a  big,  lonely  place,  Nora.  I  want 
you  with  me  there." 

"  Whin  are  we  go'ne,  mem  ? "  —  smiles  and 
eagerness  now  taking  the  place  of  woe. 


114  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Very  soon.  As  soon  as  we  can.  I  am  going 
to  explain  things  to  you,  Nora,"  said  Miss  Bagg, 
slipping  her  fingers  between  the  wires  of  the  bird's 
cage  in  response  to  the  beseeching  "  Scratch " 
which  had  succeeded  to  a  violent  parody  on  Nora's 
sobs. 

"  I  had  a  rich  uncle  in  New  York,  and  now  that 
he  has  died  his  property  has  become  mine.  The 
gentleman  who  came  to  see  me  here,  Mr.  Van 
Kirk,  is  going  to  help  me  manage  the  property. 
He  and  the  lawyer  think  it  would  be  better  for  me 
to  live  in  New  York.  He  has  a  cousin  there,  a 
Mrs.  Fuller,  who  came  to  call  on  me  and  was  very 
kind.  She  went  around  with  me  a  great  deal, 
hunting  for  a  good  place  to  be  my  home ;  but  we 
found  the  search  a  difficult  one.  At  last  the 
lawyer  said :  '  Why  not,  for  this  winter  at  least, 
live  in  your  uncle's  house  ?  It  is  old-fashioned 
but  comfortable,  and  the  housekeeper  is  still  there 
taking  care  of  it.'  Well,  we  went  to  see  it,  and  I 
decided,  although  it  is  a  very  large  place  —  I  de- 
cided to  use  it." 

"  It  's  your  house,  thin,  Miss  Bagg  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  is  my  house,"  replied  Lydia,  feeling 
the  strangeness  of  it  all  very  keenly  as  she  sat 
there  in  the  old  home  talking  with  Nora.  "  Mr. 
Van  Kirk  will  live  with  us  for  the  greater  con- 
venience of  managing  my  affairs.  I  did  not  like 
the  idea  of  living  under  the  rule  of  that  house- 
keeper, so  Mr.  Van  Kirk  promised  to  give  her 
some  money,  which  he  says  she  ought  to  have,  and 


MISS  BAGG  IS   TRANSPLANTED.  115 

to  send  her  away.  Mrs.  Fuller  has  undertaken  to 
get  my  cook  and  an  experienced  girl  to  take  care 
of  the  rooms." 

"  Sure  an'  ain't  I  yer  cook,  Miss  Bagg  ?  "  asked 
Nora,  again  dissatisfied. 

"  You  and  I  must  both  become  new  people 
now,"  replied  Lydia  kindly.  "  Mrs.  Fuller  said 
I  must  have  a  maid,  —  some  one  to  help  me  dress, 
and  do  my  little  errands,  and  brush  my  dresses. 
I  told  her  I  had  one."  Miss  Bagg  smiled  be- 
nignantly  into  the  honest,  freckled  face.  Mrs. 
Fuller  would  have  smiled,  too,  with  a  different  ex- 
pression, could  she  have  surveyed  Nora  now  as  a 
candidate  for  such  a  situation. 

"  And  ye  meant  me  ?  "  exclaimed  the  delighted 
girl.  "  I  '11  be  'round  wid  ye  more  than  iver. 
Hooroo ! " 

"  Yes.  All  you  will  have  to  do  will  be  to  take 
care  of  the  Judge  and  me." 

The  following  day  being  Sunday,  Miss  Bagg 
created  a  great  sensation  by  her  appearance  at 
church.  The  story  of  her  good  fortune  had  be- 
come known,  and  sped  from  eager  mouth  to  mouth. 
Before  another  Sunday  came  around  the  little 
house  which  had  known  her  for  half  a  century 
was  deserted  and  closed.  She  had  made  her  fond 
adieus  to  Ashley. 

Guided  by  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  —  even  in  a  matter  so 
important  as  the  disposition  of  the  Judge,  —  Miss 
Bagg  had  had  a  box  made  for  his  transportation  by 
express  to  his  new  home.  In  this  she  had  placed 


116  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

oranges,  bananas,  and  other  delicacies,  finally  plac- 
ing within,  the  astonished  Judge  himself,  who 
whispered  soliloquies  in  the  darkness,  in  great 
perplexity  of  spirit. 

Nora  rapped  on  the  outside  of  his  box. 

"  Come  in  !  "  cried  the  Judge,  with  prompt  dis- 
tinctness. 

"Oh,  the  poor  bir'rd.  Niver  moind,  Joodgie," 
said  Nora,  too  kind-hearted  to  triumph  over  her 
trapped  foe,  "  I  can't  come  in,  but  ye  '11  be  there 
to  meet  us." 

"  I  do  hope  and  pray  he  may,"  exclaimed  Miss 
Bagg,  quite  pale.  "  It  does  seem  very  cruel, 
Nora."  And  when  Miss  Lydia  and  her  maid,  the 
latter  quite  presentable  in  the  garb  her  mistress 
had  bought  her  in  Boston,  arrived  one  Saturday 
evening  in  New  York,  the  first  words  Miss  Bagg 
addressed  to  her  secretary,  who  was  in  waiting  at 
the  Forty-second  Street  depot,  were  relative  to  the 
well-being  of  the  parrot. 

"He  is  right  as  a  trivet,"  replied  Van  Kirk. 
"  Have  you  been  anxious  about  him  ?  I  ought  to 
have  telegraphed." 

"  Oh,  no ;  that  would  have  been  a  needless 
ex —  "  began  Miss  Lydia  hastily,  but  halted.  She 
was  commencing  to  learn  the  difficult  lesson  that 
nothing  which  might  possibly  add  to  her  comfort 
would  in  this  new  world  be  considered  a  needless 
expense. 

Max  had  handed  her  and  Nora  into  a  car- 
riage, and  now  seated  himself  opposite.  The  door 
slammed,  and  the  horses  started. 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.  117 

"  Well,  Mr.  Van  Kirk,"  sighed  Miss  Bagg,  "  I 
feel  as  though  I  had  burned  my  bridges  behind 
me." 

"  Did  you  sell  the  house  ?  " 

Miss  Lydia's  face  in  the  darkness  expressed  re- 
proach at  the  lightly  put  question. 

"  No,  indeed,  but  I  have  given  away  or  packed 
up  everything,  and  the  poor  little  place  looks  so 
lonely.  I  could  n't  help  feeling  guilty  as  I  turned 
the  key  at  last,  as  though  I  were  voluntarily  de- 
serting old  friends  for  new." 

"  Yes ;  that  is  because  you  are  tired,"  answered 
Van  Kirk  kindly.  "  Well,  Nora,  what  do  you 
think  of  coming  to  New  York  to  live  ?  " 

"  I  think  't  is  foine,  sir."  Nora  was  gazing  from 
the  window  at  the  panorama  of  lights,  full  of 
amaze  and  delight  at  thus  resting  upon  the  soft 
cushions  of  the  carriage  and  whirling  through  the 
novel  scene.  "  I  can't  think  't  is  me  at  all,  sir," 
she  added. 

"  Nora  never  rode  in  the  cars  until  to-day,"  ex- 
plained Miss  Bagg.  "  She  has  enjoyed  it  very 
much.  She  is  only  seventeen,  and  can  take  a  child's 
pleasure  in  everything." 

The  rest  of  the  drive  was  accomplished  in  silence. 
Miss  Lydia  was  tired.  The  last  week  had  been 
even  more  full  of  excitement  and  emotion  than  the 
one  preceding  it.  She  was  glad  to  lean  her  head 
back  in  the  corner  of  the  carriage  and  relinquish 
all  care.  Nora  continued  her  rapt  gaze  from  the 
window.  Van  Kirk  gave  himself  up  to  thoughts 


118  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

of  his  cousin  Ida,  whose  baffling  and  tantalizing 
behavior  had,  despite  his  late  preoccupation  with 
novel  duties,  continued  to  perplex  and  bewilder 
him  more  than  ever  as  to  her  real  sentiments. 
Keluctant  as  he  was  to  believe  it,  he  could  not 
conceal  from  himself  the  fact  that  her  manner  had 
changed  toward  him  since  Mr.  Bagg's  death.  1  le 
made  apologies  for  her.  He  did  not  admire  her 
less  because  she  was  ambitious.  In  fact,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  separate  ambition  from  the  fair 
widow's  identity.  Even  though  she  loved  him,  the 
blow  to  the  expectations  she  had  had  the  right  to 
harbor  in  connection  with  him  would  have  been 
sufficiently  severe  to  alter  her  manner.  Van  Kirk 
was  eager  to  explain  and  excuse  her  conduct.  He 
clung  to  the  belief  that  her  regard  for  him  was 
deep  and  would  triumph  over  her  disappoint- 
ment. 

"  I  think  we  shall  find  Mrs.  Fuller  here,"  he  said, 
as  the  carriage  stopped  before  Jotham  Bagg's  old 
home. 

u  Indeed !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Lydia. 

"  Yes  ;  I  believe  she  meant  to  stay  and  give  you 
a  welcome." 

"  She  is  very  kind,  I  am  sure,"  replied  Miss 
Bagg,  hoping  her  true  sentiments  had  not  been 
expressed  in  that  first  unguarded  exclamation. 

During  the  week  she  spent  in  New  York  the 
pretty  young  widow  had  been  constantly  at  her 
elbow.  Without  her  it  would  have  been  impossible 
for  Lydia  to  accomplish  what  she  did  and  accom- 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TEANSPLANTED.  119 

plish  it  so  well ;  but  she  had  not  been  able  to  rid 
herself  of  a  sense  of  constraint  and  lack  of  ease  in 
the  experienced  young  woman's  society.  The  lat- 
ter gave  her  a  sense  of  being  goaded  and  pressed 
on  to  unaccustomed  action  which  was  confusing 
and  fatiguing.  It  did  not  occur  to  Miss  Bagg  to 
blame  Ida  for  this.  She  had  no  doubt  that  she 
herself  was  stupid  and  at  fault,  but  she  felt  in- 
tuitively the  need  of  being  at  her  freshest  and  best 
in  order  to  meet  Mrs.  Fuller.  To-night  she  would 
have  been  glad  to  enter  a  dimly  lighted  house 
and  creep  quietly  to  bed.  That  was  not  to  be. 
No  — ,  Fifth  Avenue,  was,  they  found,  ablaze  with 
light  from  roof  to  cellar.  As  Miss  Bagg  descended 
from  the  carriage  the  hall  door  was  thrown  open. 
Mrs.  Fuller,  becomingly  dressed  in  some  soft,  light 
costume,  appeared  in  the  doorway,  and  when  Lydia 
had  ascended  the  steps  she  seized  her  hands  and 
kissed  her  on  both  cheeks. 

"  Welcome  home,"  she  said  pleasantly.  "  I 
could  n't  endure  the  thought  that  there  would  be 
no  one  here  to  greet  you,  so  1  excused  myself  from 
a  dinner." 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  replied  Miss  Bagg,  look- 
ing and  feeling  very  small  in  the  great  hall  with 
its  old-fashioned  high  ceiling.  A  strange  man 
standing  near  bewildered  her,  and  she  was  not 
soothed  when  Mrs.  Fuller  half-turned  toward  him 
saying :  "  Banks,  this  is  your  new  mistress." 

A  white-capped,  pleasant-looking  woman,  who 
had  been  standing  behind  the  young  widow,  here 


120  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

came    forward   respectfully   and   offered   to  take 
Miss  Bagg's  little  satchel. 

"Yes,  Martha,"  said  Mrs.  Fuller,  "you  may 
take  that  to  Miss  Bagg's  room.  Woirt  you  let 
Martha  take  your  wrap  and  your  bonnet  ?  Come 
with  me,  and  supper  will  be  served  at  once. 
Banks ! " 

The  man  bowed  and  moved  away  immediately. 
"  I  do  not  want  any  supper,"  replied  Miss  Bagg. 
"  A  cup  of  tea  is  all.  Nora  and  I  have  both  had 
supper." 

At  this  Mrs.  Fuller  bent  a  curious  glance  upon 
Miss  Bagg's  companion.  Nora's  face  expressed 
the  most  dazed  and  wide-eyed  wonder.  Her  new 
hat,  bought  this  morning  in  Boston,  was  rakishly 
askew. 

She  leaned  toward  her  mistress.  "  Air  we  go'ne 
to  stay  all  night  to  this  hotel,  Miss  Bagg?  "  she 
inquired  in  a  loud  whisper. 

Lydia  smiled.  "  This  is  n't  a  hotel,  Nora,"  she 
said  quietly,  "this  is  home."  Upon  which  the 
Irish  girl's  mouth  fell  open  and  she  stared  through 
the  spacious  doorway  into  the  depths  of  the  draw- 
ing-room, more  wonder-smitten  than  before. 

Suddenly  her  face  changed  with  a  look  of  intel- 
ligence and  she  smiled,  showing  the  set  of  sound 
white  teeth  which  for  some  years  now  Miss  Lydia 
had  kept  as  clean  as  her  morals. 

"  I  hear  the  Joodge,  mem.  Oh,  lave  me  up  to 
see  the  Joodge  !  " 

"  Where  is  the  Judge  ?  "  inquired  Lydia,  turn- 
ing  to  Max,  who  had  just  come  in. 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.'          121 

"  I  will  show  you,"  replied  Ida.  "  I  do  not 
believe  Max  knows.  The  parrot  is  in  your  own 
sanctum,  Cousin  Lydia.  There !  it  slipped  out.  I 
did  not  mean  to  call  you  that  until  I  had  asked 
your  permission  ;  but  really,  as  I  have  been  in  and 
out  of  dear  Cousin  Jotham's  house  the  last  week, 
preparing  it  for  your  reception,  it  has  been  impos- 
sible for  me  to  think  of  you  as  Miss  Bagg."  She 
gave  Lydia  a  winning  smile,  and  slipped  her  fine 
white  hand  through  the  latter's  arm. 

"  Why,  of  course,  I  shall  be  very  happy,"  mur- 
mured Lydia,  really  pleased. 

"Then  mind  you  call  me  Ida.  Don't  forget, 
now.  We  will  have  some  tea  brought  upstairs. 
Martha,  you  may  give  the  order." 

Mrs.  Fuller  kept  her  light  hold  on  Miss  Bagg's 
arm  as  they  moved  up  the  staircase,  followed  by 
Nora  and  then  Van  Kirk,  and  Ida  led  her  charge 
into  a  charming,  bright  room  which,  could  old  Jo- 
tham  have  revisited  it,  he  certainly  would  not  have 
recognized  as  belonging  to  his  former  menage. 

Mrs.  Fuller  had  not  put  love  for  the  future 
occupant  into  the  refurnishing  of  this  floor  of 
the  great  house,  but  she  had  put  into  it  a  love  of 
spending  money  carte  blanche,  a  love  of  beautiful, 
luxurious  things,  and  a  large  amount  of  good  taste ; 
and  the  result,  while  Miss  Bagg's  inexperience 
made  her  incapable  of  fully  appreciating  it,  was 
gratifying  in  the  extreme.  She  stood  in  the  door- 
way of  the  charming  flower-bestrewn  boudoir,  with 
its  open  fire,  in  speechless  admiration.  "  What  is 


122  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY, 

this  ?  What  is  this  ?  "  she  said  at  last.  "  I  saw 
no  such  place  as  this  when  I  was  here  before." 

"  Ida  has  done  it  all,"  said  Van  Kirk,  looking 
with  proud  admiration  at  his  cousin.  "  Thank 
her." 

"  I  do  indeed  thank  you,"  exclaimed  Lydia 
gratefully.  "Hojv  very,  very  kind  you  have 
been." 

Mrs.  Fuller  received  the  simple,  heartfelt  words 
with  a  smiling  little  bow.  "  I  enjoyed  doing  it," 
she  replied,  with  a  stricter  honesty  than  she  usu- 
ally found  it  necessary  or  convenient  to  employ  in 
her  speech. 

Meanwhile  Nora  had  advanced  to  where  between 
two  silk-hung  windows  a  fine  golden  mansion  stood 
upon  a  pedestal.  The  Judge  had  also  evidently 
come  into  a  fortune.  In  the  brilliant  artificial 
light  he  was  gyrating  nimbly,  quite  as  discontented 
as  his  mistress  had  at  first  been  with  all  this  un- 
seasonable parade.  He  would  have  vastly  pre- 
ferred the  darkness  of  the  parlor  at  Ashley.  What 
did  he  care  for  bowls  of  "  American  beauties," 
silk  and  velvet  furnishings,  screens  and  chiming 
clocks  ? 

As  Nora  approached,  he  looked  at  her  viciously. 
She  well  knew  the  meaning  of  that  swift-varying 
dilation  and  contraction  of  the  pupils  of  his  golden 
eyes. 

"  Sure  ye  're  glad  to  see  me,  Joodgie,"  she  said 
coaxingly.  "  'T  was  n't  me  shut  ye  up  in  the  box." 

"  Shut  up  !  "  quoth  the  Judge. 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.  123 

"  He  's  mad  at  me  ag'in,  Miss  Bagg,"  said  Nora 
resignedly.  "  He  thinks  't  was  me  doon  it." 

Miss  Lydia  crossed  to  her  pet.  "  My,  my, 
Judgie  !  what  a  beautiful  house !  "  she  said. 

For  answer,  the  parrot  bit  his  bars  vindictively, 
then  struck  one  of  them  smartly  with  his  beak. 
"  Come  in,"  he  cried,  in  response  to  his  own  sum- 
mons. 

"  That  is  the  most  amusing  thing  he  does,"  said 
Ida,  laughing.  "  The  Judge  and  I  have  been  get- 
ting acquainted  the  last  two  days."  She  did  not 
add  that  the  acquaintance,  so  far  as  she  was  con- 
cerned, had  been  the  reverse  of  pleasant.  "  They 
told  me  at  Holden's  that  no  finer  cage  was  pro- 
curable than  that." 

"  Oh,  how  kind  you  have  been ! "  exclaimed 
Miss  Bagg,  "you  have  thought  of  everything." 
She  slid  her  toil-worn  little  hand  between  the  golden 
bars,  a  fearless  behavior  toward  the  excited  bird 
which  astonished  all  but  Nora.  The  Judge  bent 
his  head  down  and  she  gently  grasped  it.  He 
gave  his  neck  a  sudden  twist  and  seized  her  fin- 
gers in  bis  beak. 

She  smiled  at  him  placidly.  How  wicked  his 
eyes  looked ! 

"  Tut,  tut,  Judge,  not  too  hard,"  she  said  quietly, 
for  his  pressure  all  but  cut  her.  He  certainly 
looked  as  though  it  would  give  him  satisfaction  to 
close  his  beak  upon  her  bones. 

"  Do  be  careful,  Miss  Bagg,"  said  Van  Kirk, 
"  those  fellows  can  bite  through  sole  leather." 


124  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Yes,  I  know  they  can,"  replied  Lydia  simply. 
"  It  is  very  dangerous  for  anybody  to  trifle  with 
them  who  does  not  love  them  very  much.  I  love 
this  poor  bird.  He  was  such  a  pet  of  my  father's, 
and  now  I  think  he  has  transferred  all  his  affec- 
tion to  me.  There  is  n't  the  least  danger." 

The  restless  feathered  head  was  again  nestled  in 
her  caressing  hand.  "  He  is  very  uneasy,"  she 
said  at  last,  as  she  turned  away  from  the  cage. 
"  He  does  n't  like  light  at  this  hour." 

"  No,  I  have  learned  that,"  replied  Mrs.  Fuller. 
"  I  was  at  work  in  here  last  evening,  and  suddenly 
he  began  to  make  a  noise  like  a  pistol  shot,  or  like 
the  cracking  of  a  huge  rock,  over  and  over  again. 
I  flung  a  shawl  over  the  cage,  and  in  ten  minutes 
I  found  he  had  bitten  as  many  holes  in  it." 

"  Dear  me  !     A  nice  shawl  ?  " 

"  Oh,  it  was  no  matter,"  said  Ida  carelessly, 
"  but  we  must  make  some  arrangement,  for  you 
will  often  want  to  use  this  room  in  the  evening, 
and  the  Judge's  domicile  is  too  heavy  to  move 
about.  They  will  help  us  out  at  Holden's.  I 
thought  there  might  be  some  wire  adjustment  that 
we  could  slip  on  the  cage  at  night,  which  would 
hold  the  cloth  out  of  his  reach,  then  we  could 
have  the  covering  as  nice  as  we  liked." 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  the  speaker  admiringly. 
"  How  pleasantly  you  arrange  everything,"  she 
said.  Mrs.  Fuller  shrewdly  perceived  that  no 
part  of  the  energy  she  had  put  forth  would  bring 
her  such  returns  as  her  care  for  the  Judge. 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.  125 

"Look  in  this  way,"  she  said,  and  led  Miss 
Bagg  into  such  a  sleeping-room  as  she  would  have 
liked  for  herself,  but  among  whose  numerous  luxu- 
rious appurtenances  Lydia  would  for  a  time  wan- 
der bewildered.  The  use  of  one  article  Miss  Bagg 
knew,  and  that  was  the  richly  clothed  bed.  She 
wished  she  were  already  reposing  between  its 
snowy  sheets.  Nora  entered,  expressing  her  awe 
and  admiration  in  her  own  mute  and  round-eyed 
manner. 

Mrs.  Fuller  looked  at  her  disapprovingly. 
"You  call  this  girl  Nora,  I  believe,"  she  said 
coldly.  "  Shall  I  ring  for  Martha  to  show  her  her 
room  ?  " 

"  I  will  look  at  Nora's  room,  too,  I  think,"  re- 
plied Miss  Bagg. 

"Then  I  will  show  it  to  you  myself,"  replied 
Mrs.  Fuller  after  a  moment  of  surprised  hesitation. 

She  rung  and  Martha  appeared.  "This  is  a 
girl  Miss  Bagg  has  brought  with  her.  Where  are 
you  going  to  put  her  for  the  night  ?  " 

The  neat  woman  in  white  cap  and  apron  looked 
Nora  over  from  head  to  foot,  quick  to  take  her  cue 
from  Mrs.  Fuller's  careless  manner. 

"  If  she  is  here  for  one  night  I  can  make  up  a 
bed  on  the  floor  for  her  in  one  of  those  empty 
rooms,  I  suppose,"  she  said. 

"  Is  it  your  intention  to  keep  the  girl  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Fuller  of  Miss  Bagg,  whom  amazement  had 
rendered  mute. 

"  Keep   her  ?      Keep    Nora  ?  "   she   returned. 


126  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

There  was  plenty  of  spirit  in  Lydia  when  it  was 
aroused,  and  this  suggestion  roused  her  mightily. 
The  idea  of  sending  Nora  among  strangers  in  this 
great  city  set  her  blood  to  coursing  swiftly. 

"  Evidently  I  did  not  make  you  understand 
about  Nora,"  she  continued  quietly ;  then  she 
turned  toward  Martha.  "  Show  me  the  rooms 
that  are  not  in  use.  I  need  not  trouble  you  to 
come  with  us,"  —  again  addressing  Ida. 

"No  trouble  at  all.  Let  me  help  you  select," 
replied  Mrs.  Fuller  suavely,  inwardly  railing  at 
herself  for  having  lost  a  point. 

"  Nora,  just  help  me  off  with  this,"  said  Lydia, 
and,  having  removed  her  outside  garments,  she 
followed  Mrs.  Fuller,  who  dismissed  Martha  with 
a  word,  thereby  losing  another  point  with  Miss 
Bagg,  whose  roused  sensitiveness  found  the  pro- 
ceeding rather  high-handed. 

"  I  think  Martha  had  better  come  with  us,"  she 
said.  "  I  may  need  her  to  help  Nora." 

Mrs.  Fuller  swallowed  another  sensation  of  as- 
tonishment and  led  the  way  upstairs. 

"  Mr.  Van  Kirk  is  expecting  to  occupy  the 
other  large  room  on  the  same  floor  with  yours. 
The  front  and  back  rooms  here  are  guest  cham- 
bers, and  this  little  room  "  —  opening  one  at  the 
head  of  the  stairs,  "  I  thought  with  the  bed  moved 
out  Mr.  Van  Kirk  might  like  for  a  quiet  writing- 
room." 

"  This  will  be  the  very  room  for  Nora,"  said 
Miss  Bagg  deliberately. 


MISS  BAGG  IS   TRANSPLANTED.  127 

"  I  was  going  to  show  you  the  servants'  i-ooms. 
This  room  Mr.  Van  Kirk  "  — 

"  Mr.  Van  Kirk  will  be  supreme  in  the  library," 
said  Miss  Bagg,  with  a  firmness  that  astonished 
herself.  "  I  shall  never  disturb  him  there,  but 
this  room  I  will  use  for  Nora." 

Perhaps  the  rough  little  hand  that  was  holding 
her  by  the  sleeve  gave  the  mistress  of  the  mansion 
courage.  At  all  events,  she  knew  nothing  of  these 
city-bred  servants,  and  no  dew-spangled  shamrock 
was  ever  purer  and  simpler  than  this  young  girl 
she  had  taught.  She  was  quick  to  remember, 
however,  that  this  preference  might  make  Nora 
unpopular  with  the  other  girls.  She  turned  to 
Martha. 

"  I  need  to  have  Nora  near  me.  I  want  her 
here  for  my  convenience.  Please  show  her  where 
she  can  find  bedding  and  help  her  to  put  the  room 
in  order  for  her  use." 

Then  Miss  Bagg  went  downstairs.  Her  heart 
was  beating  pretty  fast,  but  she  was  confident  that 
she  had  done  right,  and  glad  she  had  had  sufficient 
firmness  to  break  through  Mrs.  Fuller's  subtle, 
constraining  influence. 

The  latter  was  too  clever  to  show  mortification 
or  offense.  She  served  tea  charmingly  in  the 
flowery  boudoir  to  Miss  Bagg  and  her  secretary, 
after  which  she  bade  the  lady  of  the  house  a  pleas- 
ant farewell  and  set  off  for  home,  escorted  by 
Max,  who  had  kept  the  carriage  waiting  for  the 
purpose. 


128  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

As  soon  as  they  were  alone  and  the  horses  had 
started  she  fell  into  a  silent  mood,  her  explanation 
of  which  was  that  she  was  tired. 

"You  have  done  too  much,"  said  Van  Kirk 
tenderly.  "  It  is  a  great  deal  to  have  accomplished 
in  so  short  a  time.  Very  few  women  could  have 
done  it." 

"  I  like  to  do  it.  I  should  like  to  go  on  so  to 
the  end  of  my  life,  attaining  object  after  object 
which  pleased  me,  reckless  of  its  cost ;  to  say 
imperiously,  '  That  I  will  have,  I  will  go  there, 
I  will  do  this,'  as  though  no  force  could  oppose 
itself  to  my  will.  That  is  to  live  !  " 

Van  Kirk  looked  moodily  out  into  the  darkness. 
"  I  always  said  you  were  born  a  queen,"  he  re- 
plied. 

Ida  continued  with  subdued  excitement :  "  The 
woman  who  is  on  my  throne  will  fill  it  uneasily. 
Her  level  seems  to  be  about  that  of  the  freak  she 
has  brought  with  her  from  the  country." 

Van  Kirk  laughed.  "  It  is  rather  rough  on 
poor  Nora  to  call  her  a  '  freak.'  She  is  a  bright 
enough  little  girl." 

Mrs.  Fuller  smiled  scornfully.  "  Fancy  having 
such  a  hobbledehoy  about  one  as  a  maid.  Really, 
Max,  I  do  not  envy  you  your  prospective  life  in 
that  museum  of  curiosities." 

This  was  false,  for  nothing  under  the  present 
circumstances  would  have  pleased  Ida  better  than 
to  be  asked  to  domesticate  herself  in  Miss  Bagg's 
family.  She  felt  certain  of  her  power  ultimately 


MISS  BAGG  IS  TRANSPLANTED.  129 

to  possess  herself  of  the  reins  and  govern  matters 
to  suit  her  own  lavish  ideas. 

Meanwhile  Miss  Bagg,  with  a  deep  sigh  of  re- 
lief, had  repaired  to  her  own  room,  soon,  she 
hoped,  to  forget  all  turmoil  of  thoughts  and  im- 
pressions in  sweet  slumber. 

A  gentle  knock  on  her  door  disturbed  her.  She 
opened  to  Nora. 

"  Can  I  do  anything  to  help,  mem  ?  " 

"  No,  Nora,  not  to-night.  Have  you  made  your 
room  comfortable  ?  " 

"It's  iligant,  mem,  and  the  woman  ye  called 
Martha,  her  in  the  cap,  mem,  she  was  very  kind 
and  civil.  Sure  it 's  a  palace  we  live  in  now,  mem." 

"  Yes,  Nora.  *  Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  me 
on.'  Don't  forget  to  say  your  prayers." 

"I  won't,  mem."  Nora's  religious  observances 
were  of  rather  a  varied  character,  owing  to  the  hab- 
its of  her  childhood  grafted  upon  by  Miss  Bagg's 
orthodox  teachings,  but  her  heart  was  right. 

She  kissed  her  mistress'  hands,  a  grateful  habit 
she  had  always  had  from  the  time  Lydia  took  her 
in,  which,  dreadfully  embarrassing  to  Miss  Bagg 
at  first,  now  seemed  a  matter  of  course. 

"  Good-night,  Nora.     Sleep  well." 


CHAPTER  IX. 
MISS  CARLYLE'S  CONSTITUTIONAL. 

BESIDE  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  and  her  niece  there  was 
no  one  who  felt  more  vital  an  interest  in  the 
strange  turn  taken  by  events  after  Jotham  Bagg's 
death  than  Olive  Carlyle  and  her  mother.  They 
were  too  far  out  of  the  current  of  the  Van  Kirks' 
life  to  know  what  was  going  on  among  them,  but 
they  heard  the  wondrous  news  of  Maxwell's  dis- 
appointment, and  that  the  property  had  gone  to  a 
nearer  relative.  Who  or  what  she  was  they  knew 
not.  Motives  of  delicacy  restrained  them  from 
returning  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  call  and  thereby  learn- 
ing all  they  would  have  liked  to  know.  They 
could  very  well  imagine  the  resentment  of  Cousin 
Elinor,  and  they  did  not  wish  to  intrude  upon 
her. 

Not  all  of  Olive's  speculations  were  expressed 
in  words.  Her  thoughts  were  often  busy  as  she 
sat  at  her  work,  recalling  the  sentiment  which  she 
was  sure  she  had  discovered  existing  between  Max 
and  Ida.  The  subject  had  a  fascination  for  her 
which  was  not  strange.  Ida  was  an  attractive 
young  woman,  Max  physically  an  ideal  hero. 
Olive  had,  except  rarely  on  the  stage,  never  be- 


MISS  CARLYLE'S  CONSTITUTIONAL.      131 

fore  beheld  a  potentially  romantic  young  couple 
of  their  station.  No  wonder  she  entertained  herself 
with  their  probable  doings  and  sayings  in  the  un- 
expected set  of  circumstances  in  which  they  now 
found  themselves. 

No  healthy  girl  can  live  in  New  York  without 
having  considerable  variety  in  her  life,  even  though 
her  little  purse  be  as  empty  as  Miss  Carlyle's. 
Olive  had  grown  up  in  wholesome  contentment, 
too  busy  to  lapse  often  into  envy  or  covetousness, 
with  a  devout  belief  in  and  passionate  love  for  her 
indefatigable  mother,  and  up  to  the  evening  of 
Cousin  Jotham's  dinner-party  she  had  never  har- 
bored a  doubt  which  questioned  or  resented  her 
own  obscurity  and  the  uneventfulness  of  her  life. 
That  evening,  however,  was  a  turning-point  to  her. 
She  did  not  realize  it,  her  mother  did  not  per- 
ceive it,  but  the  stream  of  thought  which  swept 
through  the  pretty  head  before  the  easel  in  the 
dingy  back  parlor  was  turned  ever  afterward  into 
new  channels.  New  vistas  were  opened  in  the 
realm  of  the  girl's  imagination. 

Even  when  she  walked  abroad,  familiar  scenes 
had  for  her  a  new  aspect.  She  peopled  the  houses 
on  the  handsome  avenues  with  young,  well-dressed 
people,  where  most  of  the  men  resembled  Max 
Van  Kirk  and  most  of  the  women  his  cousin  Ida. 
While  the  freshness  of  her  novel  impressions  re- 
mained, life  was  no  longer  humdrum,  and  her  own 
thoughts  were  more  entertaining  than  the  novel- 
ist's art.  Mrs.  Carlyle  was  not  the  woman  to 


132  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRET  Mi  Y. 

strain  at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a  camel.  She  did 
not  reach  out  with  all  her  energies  to  help  the 
shop-girls  and  allow  her  own  daughter  to  read  and 
live  as  she  listed,  unobserved.  Olive  Carlyle's 
exquisitely  innocent  and  intelligent  face  was  in 
her  case  the  actual  type  of  an  unsullied  mind. 
It  was  an  active  mind,  and,  as  has  been  said,  since 
Cousin  Jotham's  dinner-party,  had  been  largely 
given  up  to  the  weaving  of  romances. 

One  fine  afternoon  in  early  January,  when  the 
sun  had  sunk  too  low  to  admit  of  crayon  work  in 
the  back  parlor,  Olive  started  out  for  a  brisk  con- 
stitutional. Her  steps  gravitated  unconsciously 
toward  the  house  where  she  had  seen  what  to  her 
was  an  alluring  glimpse  of  society,  and  as  she 
walked,  so  many  charming  ideas  dawned  upon  her 
of  what  life  might  be  that  the  pleasant  notion  oc- 
curred to  her  that  she  might  write  a  book  herself. 
She  did  not  like  Ida  Fuller  very  well,  but  it  would 
be  impossible  for  one  with  any  artistic  perception 
not  to  admire  her.  Her  heroine,  then,  should 
have  Ida  Fuller's  body  and  the  sweetest  soul  Olive 
could  imagine.  The  story  should  open  in  Cousin 
Jotham's  house,  the  desolate  home  which,  to  think 
of,  vast  and  empty,  gave  her  a  shudder.  At  last 
she  was  approaching  it.  There  it  stood,  tall,  gray, 
forbidding.  In  Olive's  book  Cousin  Jotham  should 
die  and  leave  no  will,  just  as  had  in  fact  taken 
place,  only  in  her  closing  chapter  there  should 
occur  the  striking  novelty  of  the  discovery  of  the 
missing  document;  the  desperately  unfortunate 


MISS  CARLYLE'S  CONSTITUTIONAL.      133 

hero  should  be  made  happy,  and  be  united  for- 
ever to  the  faithful  heroine. 

The  hero  —  well,  he  should  be  a  much  finer  and 
loftier  character  than  any  man  Olive  knew,  but  — 
her  firm,  long,  light  steps  were  drawing  very  near 
now  to  the  Bagg  mansion,  and  the  sight  of  it 
brought  vividly  back  the  memory  of  Max,  hand- 
some and  confident  as  he  stood  that  night  under 
the  chandelier  —  yes,  the  hero  of  her  book  could 
not  do  better  than  to  look  like  — 

The  massive  door  of  the  great  house  opened,  and 
Miss  Bagg's  secretary  ran  down  the  steps.  Miss 
Oarlyle  started  consciously  and  blushed  delight- 
fully. Mr.  Van  Kirk  saw  her  and  came  forward, 
his  hat  off,  to  shake  her  hand. 

"  You  look  as  much  surprised  as  though  you 
did  not  know  I  was  in  this  part  of  the  world,"  he 
said,  rather  piqued  by  her  astonishment,  and  won- 
dering in  the  same  breath  how  he  could  have  so 
completely  forgotten  such  a  radiant  creature  as 
she  was  now,  even  in  her  worn  black  jacket  and  a 
hat  of  last  winter. 

"  I  did  not  know  whether  you  were  in  this  part 
of  the  world  or  not.  You  never  condescend  to 
make  calls  on  your  relatives,  you  know,  Mr.  Van 
Kirk,"  was  the  gay  response. 

i4  When  have  I  had  opportunity  ?  "  returned  the 
ready  young  man.  "  Where  are  you  going  ?  for  I 
am  going  there,  too." 

"  How  good  of  you  !  "  returned  Olive,  her  eyes 
and  lips  laughing.  For  her  at  that  moment  it  was 


134  MISS  BAGWS  SECRETARY. 

a  joy  to  live.  The  frosty  air,  so  congenial  to  her 
perfect  vitality,  the  clear  sky,  the  smooth  pave- 
ment under  her  feet,  were  all  adjuncts  to  the  cor- 
dial admiration  in  Van  Kirk's  eyes,  which  gave  her 
the  crowning  gratification  of  the  moment.  "  Per- 
haps, since  I  am  only  walking  idly,  I  had  better  be 
the  one  to  go  where  you  are  going,"  she  added 
brightly. 

"  It  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  I  am  on  my 
way  to  call  on  my  mother.  I  wish  you  wotdd  come 
with  me." 

"  I  will,  part  of  the  way,"  said  Olive,  turning 
back  with  him.  "  How  is  Cousin  Elinor  ?  I  have 
not  seen  her  since  —  since  that  night." 

"  She  has  been  ill.  She  has  not  left  the  house 
for  a  long  time.  I  wish  —  why  have  n't  I  thought 
before  to  ask  it  ?  —  I  wish  your  mother  would  go 
and  see  her.  I  remember  when  I  was  a  youngster 
Cousin  Mary  was  a  great  comforter  in  time  of 
trouble.  I  suppose  you  know  the  last  month  or 
two  have  been  troublous  ones  for  us  —  more  for 
my  mother,  perhaps,  than  for  me." 

Olive  met  his  look  seriously.  "  Yes,  we  knew 
about  it  vaguely.  I  was  very  sorry  indeed  for 
your  disappointment,  Max."  The  frank  words 
sounded  very  pleasant  in  the  soft  voice.  "  I  was 
sorrier  than  mother.  She  pitied  you  intensely," 
added  the  girl,  with  a  droll  light  in  her  eyes, 
"  when  she  thought  you  were  going  to  be  a  mil- 
lionaire. She  was  not  sure  that  you  were  strong 
enough  to  bear  it." 


MISS  CARLYLE'S  CONSTITUTIONAL.      135 

"  Indeed !  "  said  Max,  with  an  answering  smile. 
**  Well,  you  see  I  had  not  to  bear  it." 

"  Yes,  and  that  makes  mother  sure  you  were 
not  ready  for  it." 

"  Well,  a  comfortable  philosophy." 

"  The  only  philosophy,  she  believes,  with  which 
one  can  go  through  this  life  other  than  miserably. 
Of  course  I  don't  know,  for  I  have  never  had  any 
trouble,  —  that  is,  any  to  speak  of."  Olive  cor- 
rected herself,  remembering  with  a  warm  uprising 
in  her  cheeks  the  day  that  Cousin  Jotham  re- 
turned the  rejected  portrait.  She  believed  that 
on  that  occasion  she  had  known  crushing  trouble. 

Van  Kirk  looked  at  her  with  interest,  conscious, 
as  she  easily  kept  pace  with  him,  that  it  was  a 
privilege  to  behold  her  before  trouble  had  come  to 
dim  one  detail  of  her  fresh  charm. 

"  How  old  are  you,  Olive  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Nineteen  next  time." 

He  shook  his  head.  "  You  are  very  young,  my 
child." 

She  gave  a  spontaneous  little  laugh.  "  Well, 
I  like  that,"  she  said. 

"  So  do  I,"  he  returned  promptly,  looking  at  her 
as  though  he  were  sincere. 

"  What  are  your  plans  now  ?  Are  you  going  to 
stay  here  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes.  I  have  to,  you  know.  I  have  lost 
my  chance  in  the  army." 

"  I  never  heard  of  anything  more  provoking," 
exclaimed  Olive  warmly. 


136  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"Is  that  sympathy  for  my  lost  commission,  or 
disapproval  of  my  remaining  here  ?" 

The  girl  smiled.  "  Your  remaining  here  is  no- 
thing to  me,  you  know.  I  shall  never  see  you." 

"  Why,  I  think  we  ought  to  walk  together  every 
day.  Do  you  observe  how  well  we  suit  one 
another  ?  " 

"  I  must  have  a  military  gait,  then." 

"  Yes.  You  should  have  been  the  daughter  of  a 
regiment." 

"  Is  Cousin  Jotham's  house  kept  open  ?  I  was 
so  surprised  to  see  you  emerge  from  there  !  " 

"  Certainly.  The  heiress  is  living  there.  I  too. 
I  have  undertaken  to  manage  her  business  affairs 
for  her." 

"  Indeed  ?  "  Miss  Carlyle's  large  eyes  looked 
very  wide.  Supposing  the  hero  of  her  tale  should 
prove  insubordinate.  Might  he  not  fall  in  love 
with  this  new  actress  in  the  drama  or  be  mercenary 
enough  to  marry  her  money  ?  "  We  heard  she  was 
a  single  lady,"  she  said  aloud.  "  How  I  should  like 
to  see  her." 

"  She  would  like  to  see  you,  too.  It  is  a  part  of 
my  general  remissness  that  I  have  not  called  upon 
you  and  your  mother  and  asked  you  to  visit  her. 
She  is  a  total  stranger  here.  Ida  has  been  the  only 
one  of  the  clan,  as  she  calls  it,  to  befriend  her.  My 
only  excuse  is  great  occupation.  My  mind  has 
been  full  of  other  things." 

"  I  dare  say.  Is  n't  it  rather  ironical  in  fate 
to  place  you  in  the  position  of  assistant  to  the 
usurper  ?  " 


MISS  CAKLYLE'S  CONSTITUTIONAL.      137 

"  It  is  certainly  the  kindest  turn  fate  could  do 
me,  under  the  circumstances." 

"  Of  course,  it  is  the  best  thing  that  could  hap- 
pen, or  it  would  n't  have  taken  place.  I  will  say  it 
for  mother,  as  she  is  n't  here.  Well,  now  I  must 
say  good-by ; "  and  Olive  paused  as  they  reached  a 
corner. 

"  You  must  n't  say  anything  of  the  sort.  I  told 
you  I  was  going  wherever  you  were.  If  you  will 
not  come  to  see  my  mother,  I  shall  have  to  go 
home  with  you." 

"  It  is  too  late  for  me  to  visit  Cousin  Elinor 
to-night.  It  will  be  quite  dark  in  half  an  hour." 
They  moved  on  together  down  the  cross  street, 
going  farther  and  farther  away  from  the  haunts  of 
the  characters  in  Miss  Carlyle's  incipient  novel. 

A  face,  leaning  forward  in  a  close  carriage,  at- 
tracted their  attention.  Max  had  barely  time  to 
remove  his  hat  after  recognizing  it  before  the  per- 
fectly appointed  equipage  passed. 

"  That  was  Ida,  was  n't  it  ?  "  asked  Olive. 

"  Yes,  and  I  suppose  Miss  Bagg  was  with  her. 
Did  you  notice  what  a  neat  little  brougham  that 
was  ?  Ida  selected  it  for  Miss  Bagg." 

"  Why,  is  her  name  Bagg?" 

"  Yes,  she  is  Uncle  Jotham's  brother's  daughter." 

"  What  is  she  like  ?  " 

"  I  refuse  to  gratify  your  curiosity,  because  I 
want  you  to  visit  her." 

When  they  drew  near  the  brick  house,  the  cen- 
tre of  a  block,  which  was  Olive's  home,  Van  Kirk 
looked  about  him  curiously. 


138  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETAEY. 

"  It  must  be  a  good  many  years  since  I  was 
here,"  he  observed. 

"  A  nice  record.  Are  n't  you  ashamed  to  admit 
it  ?  "  asked  the  girl,  a  picture  of  glowing  beauty 
in  the  biting  air  as  she  set  her  foot  on  the  lowest 
of  the  flight  of  steps  and  turned. 

"  You  know  it  is  not  my  fault  but  my  misfor- 
tune." 

"  Well,  you  are  coming  in  now  ?  " 

"  I  cannot.  I  have  not  seen  my  mother  for  a 
couple  of  days,  and  she  is  very  low-spirited." 

"  You  had  better  come  in.  We  will  give  you 
some  tea  and  bread  and  butter,  which  will  not  in- 
terfere with  your  dinner  in  the  least.  Of  course 
we  should  be  charmed  to  have  you  spend  the  even- 
ing," added  the  girl,  her  eyes  sparkling.  "  It  is 
our  reception  night." 

"  Oh,  have  you  an  evening  ? "  asked  Van  Kirk 
seriously. 

"  Certainly.  You  did  not  suppose  we  lived  in 
New  York  and  had  no  '  evening '  ?  " 

"  I  did  n't  know,"  returned  the  young  man,  very 
much  in  the  dark  as  to  her  meaning. 

The  house  door  opened  and  Mrs.  Carlyle  ap- 
peared. 

"  I  thought  it  was  you,  Max,"  she  said.  "  I 
caught  a  glimpse  of  you  from  the  window.  You 
are  coming  in  ?  " 

Van  Kirk  ran  up  the  steps,  took  her  hand,  and 
led  her  inside. 

"  Only  while  I  speak  to  you  a  moment.     I  am 


MISS  CARLYLE 'S  CONSTITUTIONAL.      139 

on  my  way  to  see  my  mother,  and,  meeting  Olive,  I 
walked  home  with  her." 

"  Well,  dear  boy,"  —  Mrs.  Carlyle,  still  holding 
his  hand,  looked  into  his  face  scrutinizingly  with 
her  soft  eyes,  —  "I  have  n't  seen  you  before  to 
congratulate  you." 

"  To  congratulate  me !  Well,  I  have  been  re- 
ceiving very  few  congratulations  of  late." 

"  You  have  mine,  heartily  given,  Max.  It  did 
not  devolve  upon  you,  with  your  youth  and  inexpe- 
rience, to  be  steward  of  all  that  wealth.  You  are 
gently  allowed  to  do  easier  work  than  that." 

Van  Kirk  stared.  His  mother,  Ida,  the  world, 
had  been  ringing  other  changes  in  his  ears. 

"  There,"  said  Olive,  who  had  followed  them  into 
the  house,  "  you  see  some  people  think  you  are 
very  young.  Take  it  humbly,  Max." 

"  I  wish  you  could  stay,"  continued  Mrs.  Carlyle, 
dropping  his  hand,  "  but  to-night  our  girls  come. 
We  could  not  have  an  undisturbed  visit." 

"  Olive  said  this  was  your  reception  evening," 
replied  the  young  man  tentatively. 

"  Yes,  there  are  a  lot  of  young  girls  without 
many  other  friends  who  come  here  on  Wednesdays. 
Come  and  see  us  some  evening,  if  you  ever  have 
leisure.  I  am  much  interested  to  know  what  you 
decide  to  do,  Max.  You  have  been  put  in  a  hard 
place  ;  yet  it  is  easier  than  the  other  would  have 
been.  Plow  does  the  mother  bear  it  ?  " 

"  Not  very  well.  Go  and  see  her  if  you  can, 
Cousin  Mary,  but  do  not  tell  her  that  I  am  to  be 


140  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

congratulated."  Van  Kirk  shook  his  head  with  a 
significant  smile. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  nodded.  "  I  only  wanted  to  know 
that  she  would  like  to  see  me." 

"  She  is  not  well  pleased  with  what  I  have  de- 
cided to  do,  which  is  to  be  general  utility  man  to 
Uncle  Jotham's  heiress ;  but  I  consider  myself  in 
great  luck." 

"  Well,  I  like  to  hear  you  say  that." 

"  I  have  been  telling  Olive  that  I  hope  you  will 
both  call  on  Miss  Bagg.  She  is  a  little  strange 
yet  to  her  environment.  Now  I  must  be  off. 
Good-by,  Olive."  He  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
she  gave  him  hers.  "  I  hope  we  may  soon  meet 
again,  if  you  take  daily  constitutionals.  Good-by, 
Cousin  Mary." 

He  departed,  and  Mrs.  Carlyle  gazed  at  her 
daughter  with  a  pensive  look  which  seemed  to  see 
beyond  her. 

"  I  declare  I  am  surprised,"  she  said  at  last. 
"  That  is  not  the  kind  of  son  I  expected  Elinor 
Van  Kirk  to  have.  That  is  a  remarkable  young 
man,  Olive.  He  has  sustained  a  heavy  blow  with- 
out being  crushed.  I  am  so  happy,  for  his  mother's 
sake,  that  he  should  prove  himself  a  hero.  Poor 
Elinor  !  This  may  turn  her  eyes  in  a  better  direc- 
tion again." 


CHAPTER  X. 

MRS.  CARLTLE  MAKES  A  FRIEND. 

MRS.  CARLYLE  determined  to  call  upon  Mrs. 
Van  Kirk  the  following  day,  and  as  she  had  some 
purchases  to  make  in  the  way  of  winter  clothing, 
she  decided,  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  boarding-place  being 
rather  remote,  not  to  go  home  between  the  two  er- 
rands, but  to  take  her  noon  meal  in  the  lunch-room 
of  the  large  dry-goods  establishment  where  she 
found  herself  at  that  hour.  The  place  had  not 
become  crowded,  and  she  seated  herself  at  a  little 
empty  table  and  ordered  the  rolls  and  coffee  which 
always  composed  her  luncheon  when  she  indulged 
in  the  unwonted  extravagance  of  eating  it  outside 
her  own  house. 

Women  and  children  flocked  into  the  place. 
Before  Mrs.  Carlyle's  coffee  arrived  nearly  every 
table  was  full.  The  clatter  of  moving  chairs  and 
clashing  crockery  became  every  moment  more  dis- 
agreeable. At  last  there  remained  only  the  empty 
place  opposite  Mrs.  Carlyle.  A  slender  woman, 
dressed  in  black  cloth  and  fur,  entered  the  room 
and  came  forward  anxiously,  and  yet  with  some 
hesitation.  She  looked  rather  timidly  at  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  and  it  was  not  among  the  possibilities  for 


142  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

that  lady  to  receive  such  a  look  without  returning 
an  answering  smile. 

She  half-inclined  her  head,  and  the  new-comer 
sat  down  in  the  vacant  place,  taking  a  second  look 
at  her  vis-a-vis.  She  observed  the  gray  shawl  with 
its  black  border  and  the  black  felt  bonnet  which 
Mrs.  Carlyle  wore,  and  Mrs.  Carlyle  also  took  note 
of  her  neighbor's  garb.  Its  richness  was  the  only 
obstacle  which  deterred  her  from  continuing  by 
words  the  reassurance  which  the  smile  had  given. 

At  this  moment  the  waitress  brought  her  coffee 
and  rolls.  The  stranger  looked  at  the  cup. 

"  I  believe  /  will  have  some  coffee,"  she  said  to 
the  girl,  and  again  she  sent  Mrs.  Carlyle  that  un- 
consciously questioning  and  timid  glance  which  set 
the  latter's  ever-ready  loving-kindness  to  overflow- 
ing. 

"  The  coffee  is  very  good  here,"  she  remarked. 
"  Would  you  like  to  see  the  card  ?  " 

The  stranger  thanked  her  as  she  accepted  it, 
and  shook  her  head  as  she  ran  her  eyes  over  the 
contents. 

"What  terrible  prices,"  she  remarked,  and 
again  her  eyes  sought  Mrs.  Carlyle's. 

"  The  old  story,"  thought  the  latter.  "  The 
more  money,  the  greater  reluctance  to  spend  it." 

Her  neighbor  gave  her  order,  and  began  taking 
off  her  gloves.  Her  hands  when  revealed  puzzled 
Mrs.  Carlyle  more  than  what  had  gone  before. 
They  looked  like  hard-working  hands,  and  the  fin- 
gers had  evidently  been  needle-pricked  for  years. 


MRS.   CARLYLE  MAKES  A  FRIEND.        143 

"  Ah,  probably  a  well  -  to  -  do  dressmaker,  who 
prefers  to  invest  her  property  in  adornment  for  her 
own  person,"  decided  Mrs.  Carlyle.  It  was  an  ex- 
planation of  the  fact  of  finding  such  luxurious 
garments  in  this  unfashionable  resort  of  a  busy 
middle  class. 

The  stranger's  next  remark  confirmed  her  in 
this  belief. 

"  This  is  the  first  meal  I  ever  took  in  a  New 
York  restaurant,"  she  said. 

"  You  are  from  out  of  town,  then." 

"  Yes.  I  come  from  a  place  in  Massachusetts, 
only  half  a  day's  ride  from  Boston.  Have  you 
ever  been  in  that  part  of  the  country  ? "  added 
the  stranger,  so  wistfully  that  Mrs.  Carlyle  took 
pleasure  in  replying :  — 

"  Oh,  yes.    I  am  a  Massachusetts  woman  myself." 

"  I  am  so  glad  I  spoke,  then.  I  have  longed 
so  to  see  somebody  from  Massachusetts.  It  has 
seemed  to  me  that  it  would  do  me  so  much  good 
to  talk  with  a  woman  from  there.  I  have  the  feel- 
ing "  —  the  speaker  leaned  confidingly  toward  her 
neighbor  —  "  that  nobody  in  New  York  cares  for 
my  soul."1 

Mrs.  Carlyle's  eyes  and  lips  gained  their  sweetest 
expression.  "  Then  I  presume  you  will  not  remain 
long  in  a  place  which  impresses  you  with  a  deso- 
late feeling.  I  know  very  well  what  you  mean." 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  other,  with  a  sad  accent,  "  I 
Lave  made  up  my  mind  to  stay  the  winter  here." 

The  waitress  brought  the  stranger's  luncheon. 


144  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

She  had  ordered  rather  a  generous  meal,  despite 
the  disconcerting  prices. 

"  My  husband  was  a  Boston  man,"  said  Mrs. 
Carlyle.  "  We  lived  there  until  eighteen  years 
ago;  then  he  changed  his  business  and  came  to 
New  York.  Mr.  Carlyle  never  liked  this  great 
city  any  more  than  you  do." 

"  Carlyle  ?  "  repeated  the  other.  "  Carlyle,  liv- 
ing in  Boston  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  perhaps  you  know  some  of  them."  Mrs. 
Carlyle  looked  up  with  interest.  Always  living 
her  doctrine  that  every  spot  of  God's  earth  should 
seem  like  home,  and  all  His  children  akin  one  to 
another,  she  had  a  love  for  discovering  community 
of  interests  with  all  whom  she  met. 

Her  vis-a-vis  looked  at  her  reflectively,  her 
heavy  cup  raised  half-way  to  her  lips.  "One  of 
the  Carlyles  married  a  Bagg,"  she  remarked. 

"  Yes,  indeed."  The  gray  eyes  were  beamingly 
benevolent  behind  the  steel-bowed  spectacles. 
"My  husband's  mother  was  a  Bagg.  Do  you 
know  any  of  the  Baggs  ?  " 

The  heavy  cup  was  set  down  untouched.  "  I 
am  a  Bagg,"  cried  the  little  woman  eagerly. 
"  Now,  I  want  to  know !  " 

It  was  hard  to  tell  which  of  the  faces  gazing  at 
one  another  across  the  table  expressed  the  more 
pleasure. 

"  Then  I  dare  say  we  shall  discover  a  family 
connection,"  returned  Mrs.  Carlyle.  "My  hus- 
band's mother  was  cousin  to  Mr.  Jotham  Bagg,  so 


MBS.  CARLYLE  MAKES  A  FRIEND.         145 

well  known  in  this  city.  He  was  your  relative, 
too,  perhaps." 

"  My  uncle,"  exclaimed  Lydia,  much  gratified. 

"  Then  you  "  —  began  Mrs.  Carlyle,  and  stopped., 
The  truth  suddenly  dawned  upon  her.  Her  head 
fell  a  little  to  one  side  and  she  studied  her  opposite 
neighbor,  still  smiling,  but  with  a  new  interest  in 
the  latter's  timidity  and  homesick  sensations  of 
strangeness.  "  You  are  Cousin  Jotham's  heiress," 
she  said,  after  the  pause. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  other,  looking  excited  and 
glad,  "and  you  are  one  of  the  connections  and 
you  're  from  Boston.  Why  has  n't  somebody  told 
me  about  you  ?  I  thought  Mrs.  Fuller  and  Mrs. 
Van  Kirk  were  all  there  were." 

"  Max  was  at  our  house  a  minute  yesterday," 
said  Mrs.  Carlyle,  "  and  he  asked  my  daughter 
and  me  to  come  to  see  you.  He  apologized  for 
not  having  done  so  before,  saying  he  had  been  too 
busy  to  remember  it." 

"  Well,  to  think  I  was  led  right  into  this  restau- 
rant and  up  to  this  very  table  !  Do  have  lunch 
with  me  ;  do !  I  can  never  eat  all  this,"  continued 
Miss  Bagg,  feeling  more  content  and  happy  than 
at  any  time  since  that  fateful  morning  in  Ashley 
when  Mr.  Galbraith's  letter  arrived.  The  look  in 
Mrs.  Carlyle's  face  and  the  tones  of  her  voice,  the 
very  plainness  of  her  attire,  had  sunk  into  Lydia's 
heart  as  gratefully  as  refreshing  -rain  into  the 
parched  earth.  She  felt  vivified  throughout,  and 
enriched  by  her  discovery.  She  called  for  a  fork 


146  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

for  her  new  friend,  and  was  made  happy  by  Mrs. 
Carlyle's  acceptance  of  some  of  her  dishes. 

"  I  am  so  glad  I  ran  away !  "  she  said  naively. 

"  Did  you  run  away  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Carlyle. 

Lydia  blushed  at  her  own  admission.  *'  I  have 
not  been  around  alone  to  any  of  the  stores  before," 
she  answered.  "  Mrs.  Fuller  usually  goes  with  me. 
This  morning  I  thought  I  would  like  to  see  how 
it  seemed  not  to  ride  in  the  carriage,  but  to  go  on 
the  elevated  railway,  so  I  put  on  my  things  and 
came  down-town  without  saying  anything  to  any- 
body. When  I  found  it  was  noon,  it  occurred  to 
me  that  it  would  be  a  change  to  come  in  here  and 
eat  my  lunch,  although  I  felt  quite  sure  Mrs.  Ful- 
ler would  not  approve  of  it.  She  does  not  like  to 
come  into  this  store.  It  is  too  crowded  with  what 
she  calls  common  people.  Perhaps  you  know 
Mrs.  Fuller?" 

"  Yes,  indeed.  I  have  known  her  from  a  child  ; 
not  seeing  her  very  often,  however.  She  is  an  in- 
teresting woman." 

"  Yes,  and  knows  so  much  of  what  one  should 
do  and  should  not  do  in  my  position,"  answered 
Miss  Bagg,  with  a  little  unconscious  sigh.  "  That 
is  what  I  meant  by  running  away.  I  felt  quite 
sure  Cousin  Ida  would  not  like  me  to  ride  on  the 
elevated  road.  Perhaps  she  might  not  object,  but 
I  thought  I  would  come  out  early,  by  myself,  be- 
fore she  arrived.  She  is  very  kind.  She  always 
gives  me  her  advice  in  the  kindest  way,"  added 
Miss  Bagg  hastily. 


MBS.   CABLYLE  MAKES  A  FBIEND.         147 

**  Ah  !     She  comes  every  day,  does  she  ?  " 

"  Usually.  There  is  almost  always  something 
that  I  need  to  be  told  about,  —  she  thinks  there  is. 
She  is  very  kind." 

"  How  do  you  find  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  ?  " 

"  Oh,  she  has  been  sick  ever  since  I  came,"  re- 
plied Lydia.  "  I  have  n't  seen  her  at  all.  Cousin 
Ida  brings  me  kind  messages  from  her  quite  often. 
I  shall  be  glad  to  know  her  for  her  son's  sake." 

"  You  like  him  ?  " 

The  care-worn  little  lines  that  had  been  deepen- 
ing in  Miss  Bagg's  forehead,  as  she  talked, 
smoothed,  and  a  cordial  light  brightened  her  eyes. 
"  I  know  you  won't  misunderstand  me,  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle,  if  I  say  to  you  that  I  love  that  young  man," 
she  said  emphatically.  "  I  love  him.  I  'm  old 
enough  to  be  his  mother,  and  I  only  wish  he  were 
my  son.  He  has  been  everything  to  me  that  a 
son  could  be  from  the  time  all  this  excitement  and 
change  began.  Always  so  thoughtful,  always  so 
kind,  in  little  and  great  things  alike." 

Mrs.  Carlyle's  face  wore  an  answering  glow  of 
pleasure  and  interest.  "  That  is  fine  —  fine  to 
hear,"  she  replied.  "  Good  for  Max.  He  is  a 
noble  man.  I  should  not  have  expected  it." 

"  You  would  n't  ? "  asked  Lydia  in  surprise. 
"  Then  I  suppose  you  do  not  know  him  well." 

"  No,  not  very  well  of  late  years,  of  course,  for 
he  had  been  away  all  the  time ;  still,  I  meant  I 
should  not  expect  it  of  any  young  man  under 
circumstances  of  such  great  disappointment.  Few 


148  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

would  be  generous  enough  to  keep  in  mind  your 
entire  innocence." 

Miss  Bagg  stared  at  the  speaker  blankly. 
"  What  disappointment  ?  "  she  asked,  after  a  mo- 
ment. "  Oh,  do  you  mean  about  the  money  ?  No, 
no.  It  was  not  Mr.  Van  Kirk ;  it  was  another 
man, — a  dreadful  man;"  she  shuddered.  "His 
name  is  Wilkins,  and  he  has  gone  to  Europe,  Mr. 
Van  Kirk  tells  ine,  or  I  should  not  have  an  easy 
day." 

"  Yes,  I  dare  say  he  was  disappointed,  too.  He 
had  believed  in  his  own  claims,  but  no  one  agreed 
with  him.  Why,  is  it  possible  you  know  nothing 
about  it?  "  Mrs.  Carlyle  again  dropped  her  he-ad 
to  one  side,  and  regarded  Lydia  benignantly.  If 
the  good  lady  had  a  weakness,  it  was  the  difficulty 
she  experienced  in  realizing  that  facts  ever  should 
be  kept  secret.  Many  women  of  far  less  unselfish 
habit  of  mind  would  have  understood  now  that,  if 
the  heiress  had  been  kept  in  ignorance  of  the 
story  of  Cousin  Jotham's  protege,  it  had  probably 
been  of  intention ;  but  Mrs.  Carlyle  thought  only 
of  raising  Max  higher  still  in  Miss  Bagg's  regard. 

"  No,  indeed,"  returned  Lydia  earnestly.  "  No 
one  has  told  me  anything  about  Mr.  Van  Kirk's 
having  a  disappointment." 

"  Well,  he  had  one,  I  assure  you,  and  you  will 
see  that  he  merits  the  warm  regard  you  feel  for 
him."  Then  Mrs.  Carlyle  began  at  the  beginning 
and  told  Max's  story. 

"  I   want   to  know ! "   ejaculated   Lydia,  when 


MRS.   CABLYLE  MAKES  A  FRIEND.         149 

the  tale  was  finished.  She  frowned  and  looked 
thoughtful.  "  I  wonder  if  that  is  what  made  his 
mother  ill  ?  " 

"  I  think  it  likely,"  said  Mrs.  Carlyle.  "  I  am 
glad  to  hear  that  she  sends  you  kind  messages. 
It  shows  that  she  is  coming  to  take  a  right  view 
of  the  case." 

"  I  suppose  that  is  because  Mr.  Van  Kirk  gets 
a  large  salary  for  managing  things  for  me,"  said 
Lydia,  brightening.  "  He  is  to  have  six  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  Of  course  he  could  never  spend 
all  that." 

"  It  is  a  good  salary,"  replied  Mrs.  Carlyle. 
"  He  could  marry  on  it." 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  the  next  thing,"  exclaimed 
Miss  Bagg  dismally.  "  I  shall  dread  to  have  him 
get  married.  Do  you  know,"  —  she  leaned  across 
the  table  confidentially,  —  "  he  admires  his  cousin 
Ida  very,  very  much  ?  I  'm  sure  of  it." 

"  Seriously  enough  for  marriage,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  Seriously  enough  for  anything.  I  don't  know 
—  somehow  or  other,  it  does  n't  seem  to  me  quite 
the  thing.  I  'm  not  partial  to  cousins  marrying, 
and  I  may  be  mistaken,  but  she  seems  older  than 
he  is." 

"  She  is,  a  little ;  not  much." 

Having  finished  their  luncheon,  the  two  friends 
rose  from  the  table. 

"  I  must  go  home,  or  they  will  think  that  I  am 
lost,"  said  Lydia.  "  You  will  come  to  see  me 
soon,  won't  you  ?  "  She  gave  Mrs.  Carlyle's  hand 


150  Miss   HAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

a  warm  clasp.  "  I  am  so  glad  I  found  you,"  she 
added  earnestly. 

Her  companion  returned  a  cordial  answer,  prom- 
ising to  visit  her  soon  ;  then  they  parted. 

Arrived  at  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  boarding-place, 
Mrs.  Carlyle  found  a  welcome  awaiting  her. 

"  Maxwell  encouraged  me  to  hope  you  would 
come  to-day,"  said  the  semi-invalid,  whose  face 
still  bore  the  imprint  of  martyrdom.  "  Why 
have  n't  you  been  here  before  ?  " 

"  Simply  because  I  was  not  sure  you  wished  to 
see  visitors,"  replied  Mrs.  Carlyle,  taking  the  of- 
fered chair  in  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  pleasant  bay-win- 
dow. 

"  Not  visitors,  of  course,  Mary.  I  had  no  heart 
for  that,  but  it  was  cruel  in  you  to  stay  away  at 
such  a  time.  What  we  have  passed  through  !  " 
The  speaker  pressed  her  handkerchief  to  her  eyes. 

"  And  how  beautifully  you  have  come  out  of  it 
all !  "  was  the  cheery  reply.  "  I  just  happened  to 
meet  Miss  Bagg  in  the  oddest  way,  and  we  struck 
up  an  acquaintance.  It  would  do  your  heart  good 
to  hear  the  way  she  speaks  of  Max." 

"Yes,"  returned  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  in  a  hollow 
tone.  "  After  robbing  him  of  his  patrimony,  she 
has  robbed  me  of  my  boy.  He  lives  in  her  house. 
He  is  too  busy  with  her  affairs  to  give  his  mother 
more  than  hurried  calls.  There  never  was  a  wo- 
man who  was  called  upon  to  make  such  sacrifices 
as  I  have  always  made,"  continued  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk,  nearly  in  tears.  "  When  he  was  a  child, 


MRS.  CARLYLE  MAKES  A  FRIEND.        151 

Max  had  ever  to  be  subject  to  Uncle  Jotham's 
beck  and  call.  When  he  was  a  youth,  it  was  de- 
manded of  me  to  give  him  to  the  government. 
After  that  academy  swallowed  him  up,  I  had  no 
more  right  to  see  him  or  to  control  his  movements 
than  if  I  had  been  an  utter  stranger  ;  then  he 
went  into  the  army,  and  now  look  at  the  situation. 
He  disregards  my  advice,  and  toils  early  and  late 
to  further  the  prosperity  of  one  whose  wealth  is  al- 
ready a  burden." 

"  Yet  you  try  to  feel  kindly  toward  her,"  replied 
Mrs.  Carlyle  cheerfully.  "  She  told  me  herself 
of  the  pleasant  messages  she  receives  from  you." 

"  Pleasant  messages  !  "  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  dropped 
her  hands  and  stared  at  her  visitor.  At  this  mo- 
ment Mrs.  Fuller  entered  the  room,  her  soft  house- 
dress  trailing  over  the  carpet  behind  her  and  cling- 
ing close  to  her  lithe  figure.  "  Ida  Fuller,  have 
you  been  concocting  messages  and  carrying  them 
from  me  to  that  woman  ?  "  she  exclaimed,  turning 
to  face  her  niece. 

The  young  widow  advanced  to  the  visitor  and 
presented  her  cheek  to  be  kissed.  "  Cousin  Mary, 
have  you  been  telling  tales  out  of  school?"  she 
asked  calmly. 

"  No,  my  child,  it  is  not  possible.  What  do 
you  mean,  Elinor  ?  " 

"I  mean  that  I  never  sent  a  message  to  that 
woman.  I  would  scorn  to  do  it.  How  did  you 
dare,  Ida !  " 

The  young  woman  laughed,  and  took  a  low  seat, 


152  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

where,  with  her  soft  dress  in  folds  about  her  feet, 
she  made  a  graceful  picture  as  she  leaned  against 
the  casement. 

"  It  did  not  take  much  daring,"  she  replied. 
"  I  knew  you  would  thank  me  later." 

"  Never.  If  you  and  Max  choose  to  make  slaves 
and  spectacles  of  yourselves  I  do  not,  and  never 
shall." 

"You  need  not  be  spectacular  or  slavish,  but 
you  will  surely  call  upon  her  soon,"  said  Ida. 

"  I  will  not,"  —  shortly.  "  I  could  not,  without 
expressing  to  her  my  righteous  indignation  at 
what  my  precious  boy  has  suffered,  and  Max  is 
determined  she  shall  never  know.  He  has  laid 
most  imperative  orders  —  requests,  he  would  call 
them  —  upon  Ida  and  me,"  finished  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk,  looking  aggrievedly  at  her  visitor. 

"  Then  I  have  made  a  mistake,  and  I  hope  Max 
will  forgive  me,"  said  Mrs.  Carlyle  promptly, 
*'  for  I  told  her  all  about  it  this  morning." 

Instantly  Ida  changed  her  relaxed  posture  and 
leaned  forward  with  a  concentrated  gaze.  "  What 
did  she  say  ?  How  did  she  take  it  ?  "  she  asked 
with  sudden  eagerness. 

"  She  was  a  good  deal  impressed  with  the  narra- 
tive, I  think.  It  made  her  appreciate  more  than 
ever  the  nobility  and  kindness  Max  has  shown  her ; 
but  I  think  she  feels  that  the  arrangement  they 
have  made  must  be  a  satisfactory  one  to  him.  She 
thinks  he  receives  a  very  large  salary." 

"  A  very  large  salary !  "    Mrs.  Van  Kirk  and  Ida 


MES.  CAELYLE  MAKES  A  FEIEXD.        153 

repeated  the  phrase  in  a  union  of  scornful  emphasis. 
Then  Mrs.  Fuller  laughed,  and  leaned  back  again 
in  an  easy  position  against  the  casement. 

"  That  is  it,"  said  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  triumphantly. 
"  There  you  see  the  mean  and  sordid  spirit  which 
one  must  expect  in  a  woman  of  such  antecedents.' 

"  Oh,  I  assure  you  you  are  mistaken  in  that 
judgment  of  her,"  answered  Mrs.  Carlyle,  with 
pained  earnestness.  . 

"  Let  me  suggest  something,"  said  Ida  in  her 
low,  slow  tones.  "  Let  us  three  agree  not  to  tell 
Max  of  this.  It  will  annoy  him." 

"  Indeed,  I  want  to  tell  him,"  said  his  mother 
excitedly.  "  He  will  forgive  his  Cousin  Mary 
easily  enough,  and  I  want  him  to  know  his  em- 
ployer for  what  she  is." 

"  Let  me  persuade  you,  Aunt  Elinor,"  urged  Ida, 
"  at  least  for  the  present.  Max  will  only  defend 
Miss  Bagg  if  we  assail  her,  and  I  should  think, 
proud  as  you  are,  you  would  respect  your  son's 
pride,  and  not  place  him  in  the  position  he  will  hold 
after  he  knows  this.  You  are  just  the  one  to  realize 
how  the  knowledge  would  trammel  him." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  wavered. 

"  Miss  Bagg  is  a  modest,  timid  little  woman," 
put  in  Mrs.  Carlyle  earnestly.  "  I  do  wish,  Eli- 
nor, you  would  consent  to  make  her  acquaintance. 
She  is  homesick  in  a  strange  land.  It  would  touch 
you,  Ida,  to  hear  her  expression  of  gratitude  for 
your  kindness.  It  is  a  temptation,  I  know,  dear, 
for  you  to  desire  to  give  her  pleasure,  but  don't, 
don't  tell  her  untruths,  for  your  own  sake." 


154  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Mrs.  Fuller  smiled.  "  Not  even  those  innocent 
little  white  lies  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Ah,  my  child,  white  lies  cast  a  black  shadow 
on  the  soul,  and,  believe  me,  it  is  even  better  that 
the  truth  should  be  spoken  at  all  times  than  that 
anything  else  should  ever  be  spoken." 

The  gaze  of  the  loving  eyes  behind  the  specta- 
cles brought  a  flush  to  Ida's  cheeks,  although  she 
smiled  on. 

"  Well,  promise  me  you  won't  tell  Max  of  your 
disclosures,"  she  persisted. 

"  I  will  try  not  to  speak  of  it,"  said  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle.  "  Dear  boy,  I  should  be  loath  to  add  to  his 
burdens.  I  suppose,  though,  that  Miss  Bagg  will 
tell  him." 

"  I  imagine  she  will  not,"  returned  Ida.  "  She 
seems  to  have  spasms  of  shyness.  I  fancy  that  is 
a  thing  she  will  not  speak  of." 

"  Shyness  !  "  repeated  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  with  im- 
mense scorn.  "  Say  she  will  be  ashamed  to  speak 
of  it.  I  dare  say  she  will  be." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  looked  into  the  excited  face.  "  Poor 
Elinor.  I  do  feel  sorry  for  you,"  she  said,  with 
such  a  sincere  ring  in  her  tone  that  her  hostess' 
handkerchief  was  again  brought  into  requisition. 

"  Not  because  Max  lost  the  money,  but  because 
you  are  allowing  the  fact  to  embitter  your  life." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  looked  up  at  the  speaker  in  some 
surprise.  "  It  is  very  well  for  you  to  talk  that 
way,  Mary.  I  know  that  your  disposition  is  so 
entirely  different  from  mine  it  is  impossible  for 
you  to  enter  into  my  feelings." 


MBS.  CARLYLE  MAKES  A  FKlEND.        155 

"  Oh,  I  have  seen  many  times  in  my  life  when  it 
has  been  very  hard  for  me  to  content  myself,  but 
I  could  generally  succeed  at  last  simply  by  counting 
my  blessings.  You  try  it,  Elinor,  when  next  you 
are  alone.  You  will  find  it  occupy  you  grandly." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  wiped  her  eyes.  Real  tears  had 
sprung  in  them. 

"  In  the  old  days,"  continued  Mrs.  Carlyle 
gently,  "  when  our  hearts  were  fresher  than  they 
are  now,  we  used  to  talk  sometimes  of  these  things 
together.  Do  you  remember,  dear?  There  can 
be  no  peace  for  any  of  us  until  we  admit  that  a 
Divine  Providence  guides  our  affairs  ;  and  after  we 
have  admitted  that,  nothing  seems  hard  after  we 
have  been  given  time  to  stop  and  think.  All  we 
wish  to  do,  then,  is  to  find  out  what  the  Lord  wants 
us  to  do,  and  to  do  it.  Life  becomes  something 
like  the  children's  game  of  Magic  Music.  We  are 
to  use  all  our  faculties  and  to  work  as  intelligently 
as  we  can  in  the  affairs  of  daily  life,  and  we  come 
to  feel  the  gentle  guidance  which  indicates  in  our 
failures  and  successes  that  one  thing  is  right  for  us 
to  do  or  to  possess  and  another  wrong.  The  thing 
that  is  hardest  to  learn  is  that  we  are  to  be  as 
thankful  for  the  failures  as  for  the  successes ;  but 
that  will  come  at  last,  and  when  it  does  come, 
happiness  is  gained  indeed." 

A  silence  followed  which  would  have  been  awk- 
ward for  a  person  more  self-centred  than  Mrs. 
Carlyle ;  but  one  could  not  look  into  her  face 
without  seeing  that  her  thoughts  were  entirely  and 
lovingly  bent  upon  the  woman  she  was  addressing. 


156  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  would  give  a  great  deal  to  be  as  steadily 
content  as  you  are,  certainly,"  said  Mrs.  Van  Kirk 
at  last,  lifting  her  face,  but  speaking  woefully. 

"  You  need  to  take  a  longer  view,  Elinor.  Your 
gaze  stops  too  soon.  This  world  is  not  all  of  life. 
You  are  right  in  thinking  that  I  do  not  deserve 
credit ;  I  think  I  was  born  under  a  hopeful  star, 
for  whichever  way  I  turn  my  kaleidoscope  there  is 
always  something  that  shines  out  with  promise  for 
the  next  time.  I  love  to  rest  in  the  thought  that '  a 
hand  divine  shall  lead  them  on,'  and  to  think  that 
if  one  will,  he  can  gather  compensations  dearer  than 
gold  from  experiences  the  Father  allows." 

The  speaker  looked  into  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  eyes, 
which  had  grown  rather  sullen,  then  at  Ida,  who 
was  still  leaning  against  the  casement  and  regard- 
ing Mrs.  Carlyle  with  a  faint  smile  which,  had  the 
latter  been  sensitive  to  ridicule,  would  have  been 
disconcerting.  The  visitor  felt  no  tinge  of  embar- 
rassment. She  had  said  what  it  occurred  to  her  to 
say  to  this  woman  who  it  seemed  to  her  was  seek- 
ing satisfaction  in  such  mistaken  ways,  and  that 
was  all  she  could  do  at  present. 

"  I  must  be  going  now,"  she  said,  rising  after 
the  moment  of  silence.  The  others  rose  too. 

"  Thank  you  for  your  visit,  Mary,"  said  Mrs. 
Van  Kirk.  "  Come  and  see  me  when  you  can,  for 
the  sake  of  old  times,  even  if  we  do  not  look  at 
things  just  alike." 

"  Whenever  you  want  me,  dear,"  returned  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  taking  her  hand,  "  and  don't  stay  any 


MRS.   CABLYLE  MAKES  A  FRIEND.        157 

longer  in  this  room.  Go  out-of-doors.  Come  to 
see  me.  And,  Elinor,  it  is  old-fashioned  advice,  I 
know,  but  believe  me,  it  is  a  very  steadying  thing  to 
read  your  Bible.  Try  it.  Read  it  until  you  love 
it.  '  Great  peace  have  they  who  love  Thy  law,'  and 
peace  is  what  you  want.  'Nothing  shall  offend 
them,'  —  think  of  that !  " 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  returned  the  pressure  of  her 
hand  faintly. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  said  good-by  to  Ida  and  departed. 

"  To  think  that  that  unhappy  woman  lives  in  a 
land  that  flows  with  milk  and  honey,  if  she  only 
knew  how  to  make  it  flow,"  she  reflected,  as  she 
hurried  along  the  street. 

Mrs.  Fuller,  when  the  caller  had  gone,  looked  at 
her  aunt  and  smiled.  "  Don't  you  feel  as  though 
we  had  received  a  visit  from  the  Salvation  Army  ?  " 
she  asked.  "  Really,  Cousin  Mary  grows  worse 
and  worse." 

"  If  we  were  no  worse  than  she  is  we  should  do 
well,"  returned  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  shortly.  "  With 
her  ideas  she  certainly  has  the  best  of  it  here,  and 
if  there  is  any  world  to  come  she  will  have  the  best 
of  it  there  ;  but  one  thing  I  want  you  to  understand, 
Ida.  I  will  not  be  misrepresented  by  you  any 
longer  to  that  woman.  I  will  go  to  her  and  say  all 
that  is  in  my  mind  as  to  her  inheritance,  unless  you 
promise  me." 

Ida  shrugged  her  shoulders,  and  cast  a  glance 
toward  the  ceiling.  "  Oh,  poor  Miss  Bagg !  I 
promise." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A   BROKEN   IDOL. 

As  a  rule,  Miss  Bagg  had  finished  breakfast 
before  her  secretary  was  ready  for  his,  but  on  the 
morning  after  her  meeting  with  Mrs.  Carlyle  she 
waited  for  him  to  come  down  before  she  seated 
herself  at  the  table.  He  had  not  dined  at  home 
the  night  before,  and  she  had  had  no  opportunity 
to  tell  him  of  the  new  acquaintance  which  gave  her 
so  much  pleasure. 

Max,  seeing  that  she  had  waited  for  him,  laid 
aside  the  morning  paper,  which  was  his  usual  break- 
fast companion,  and  gave  his  whole  attention  to 
the  narrative  which  Lydia,  with  unusual  spirit, 
related  to  him. 

When  she  had  finished,  he  nodded.  "  That  is 
as  it  should  be,"  he  said,  "  and  it  is  all  my  fault 
that  you  have  not  met  her  before  this.  Cousin 
Mary  is  one  of  the  salt  of  the  earth,  and  her  daugh- 
ter Olive  is  "  —  he  stopped  and  smiled  thought- 
fully a  moment  —  "  well,  Olive  is  a  surprise." 

"  An  unpleasant  child,  do  you  mean  ?  It  is  n't 
possible  with  that  mother !  I  made  up  my  mind 
about  that  woman  in  the  space  of  five  minutes." 

"  Not  at  all.    Olive  is  a  young  lady  and  a  charm. 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  159 

ing  one.  The  surprise  is  in  the  way  these  children 
grow  up.  Olive  Carlyle  is  a  beauty,  and  does  n't 
seem  to  be  oppressed  by  the  fact ;  "  and  Van  Kirk 
smiled  again  at  his  own  thoughts. 

Miss  Bagg  was  watching  him,  many  new  con- 
siderations in  her  mind.  She  had  lain  awake  hours 
of  the  night  thinking  over  what  Mrs.  Carlyle  had 
told  her,  and  wishing  she  might  in  some  degree 
make  up  to  her  favorite  his  loss. 

"  Mrs.  Carlyle  thinks  a  great  deal  of  you,"  she 
said  at  last. 

"  Does  she  ?  All  the  better  for  me.  It  proves 
her  forgiving  spirit,  though.  I  used  to  go  to  her 
house  from  school  to  my  lunches  when  I  was  a 
small  boy,  as  it  was  nearer  than  my  own  home, 
and  I  know  I  made  life  a  burden  to  her." 

"  She  says  you  could  marry  on  your  salary,"  re- 
marked Lydia  irrelevantly,  and  Van  Kirk,  looking 
up  in  surprise,  saw  that  his  companion  had  forgot- 
ten her  breakfast  and  was  gazing  at  him  pensively. 
Her  face  changed  as  she  saw  his  expression. 

"  I  suppose  it  was  n't  just  the  thing  for  me  to 
tell  her  how  much  you  have,"  continued  Miss  Bagg, 
in  hasty  apology.  She  began  beating  the  table 
gently  with  her  unused  fork,  the  fine  lace  around 
her  wrist  trembling.  Lydia's  breakfast  costume 
had  changed  since  the  days  when  the  faded  brown 
calico  used  to  rub  in  neighborly  fashion  against 
the  Judge's  battered  old  cage  in  the  dining-room 
at  Ashley.  "  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  have  spoken 
of  it  at  all,"  she  went  on,  "  but  we  fell  into  con- 
fidential talk,  and  it  came  about  naturally." 


160  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  No  matter,"  replied  Max,  returning  to  his 
breakfast.  "  It  is  of  no  consequence  if  Cousin 
Mary  knows.  Of  course,  I  feel  a  man's  ordinary 
distaste  for  having  my  affairs  ventilated." 

"  Well,  I  want  to  talk  to  you  a  little  about  your 
salary.  Is  it  large  enough  ?  "  asked  Lydia,  very 
full  of  her  own  train  of  thought. 

"  Certainly.     We  discussed  that,  you  know." 

"  No,  I  never  discussed  it.  I  simply  assented," 
replied  Miss  Bagg.  "  It  sounds  large  to  me,  but  I 
know  very  little  of  the  cost  of  living  here.  I  was 
thinking  about  it  in  the  night,  and  I  have  so  much 
more  than  you." 

Van  Kirk  laughed.  "  Of  course  you  have,  else 
you  could  not  afford  to  pay  me." 

"  But,  my  dear  sir,"  —  when  Lydia  was  suffi- 
ciently excited  to  have  a  little  color  in  her  cheeks, 
and  for  her  knot  of  curls  to  quiver,  she  sometimes 
addressed  her  secretary  as  "  my  dear  sir,"  — "  I 
have  my  reasons  for  wanting  to  understand  very 
clearly  about  this.  Let  us  not  have  any  false 
modesty  on  either  side.  You  have  had  some  expe- 
rience in  your  new  duties  since  the  amount  was 
settled  upon.  Do  you  still  think  it  enough  ?  " 

"  I  do,  Miss  Bagg,"  replied  the  young  man,  with 
that  half-deferential,  half -protective  air  whit-h  he 
had  always  employed  toward  her,  and  which,  with- 
out analyzing,  Lydia  felt  to  be  one  of  the  most 
valuable  of  her  new  possessions.  "  I  believe  you 
can  employ  many  a  man  better  qualified  than  J 
for  the  work  at  the  same  price." 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  1G1 

Miss  Lydia  aimed  a  gesture  at  him  with  the 
fork.  "Can  —  you — marry  on  it?"  she  asked 
impressively. 

"  Are  you  in  a  hurry  to  be  rid  of  me  ?  " 

"  Don't  evade,  Mr.  Van  Kirk.  Answer  me 
truthfully." 

"  Women  do  marry  men  who  have  no  more  than 
six  thousand  a  year.  I  dare  say  I  can  compass 
it." 

"  But  perhaps  you  have  your  eye  on  a  woman 
who  would  require  more.  Do  not  be  offended 
with  me,  Mr.  Van  Kirk ;  you  know  idle  curiosity 
would  never  tempt  me  to  talk  to  you  like  this." 

Max  met  her  earnest  gaze.  What  a  frail  little 
creature  she  was  to  be  able  to  wield  such  power. 
With  a  stroke  of  her  pen  she  could  make  him 
master  of  that  which  would  give  him  his  heart's 
desire.  It  was  a  humiliating  thought  that  the 
woman  he  loved  could  be  won  only  with  money. 
It  was  a  fact  which  he  did  not  yet  credit.  He 
flung  the  idea  from  him  while  he  returned  Miss 
Bagg's  look. 

u  Then  she  must  wait  until  I  can  earn  more," 
he  replied.  "  Thank  you  sincerely  for  your  inter- 
est in  me,  but  now  that  you  know  that  I  believe 
myself  well  paid,  you  may  set  your  mind  at  rest." 

But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  set  Miss  Bagg's  mind 
at  rest.  Long  after  Van  Kirk  had  gone  into  the 
library,  where  he  always  did  some  work  before 
going  to  his  down-town  office,  she  wandered  about 
the  great  house  like  an  uneasy  spirit.  The  old 


162  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

piaiio  was  still  in  the  drawing-room,  and  Lydia 
often  entertained  herself  by  sitting  before  it  and 
playing  over  some  of  the  hymn-tunes  she  had 
learned  on  the  melodeon  at  home  ;  but  this  morning 
music  had  no  charms  to  soothe  her.  She  left  the 
piano  with  a  sigh  and  went  up  to  her  own  cheerful 
sitting-room,  where  Nora  had  just  finished  house- 
cleaning  the  Judge's  cage.  This  operation  was 
never  accomplished  without  a  wordy  war,  and  as 
Miss  Bagg  approached  she  heard  Nora  sneezing 
and  the  Judge  mocking  her  with  exaggerated  em- 
phasis. 

"  All  right  fer  you,  Joodgie,"  Nora  exclaimed, 
much  aggrieved.  "  Ye  might  have  a  cold  yersilf 
one  o'  these  days !  " 

"  Nora,"  said  Miss  Lydia,  entering,  "  I  think 
Mrs.  Fuller  will  be  here  this  morning,  as  I  did  not 
see  her  yesterday.  When  she  arrives  I  want  her 
to  be  shown  up  here." 

"  Is  annything  wrong,  mem  ?  "  asked  the  girl, 
for  her  mistress'  nervousness  was  visible  to  her 
loving  eyes. 

"  No,  I  think  not ;  but  I  need  to  see  Mrs.  Fuller 
on  some  business  before  I  can  settle  down  to  real 
comfort  again." 

Nora  shook  her  neatly  brushed  head.  "  She  'd 
niver  be  no  comfort  to  me,  mem,"  she  remarked 
sententiously,  as  she  proceeded  carefully  to  dust 
the  ornaments  of  a  cabinet. 

"  Tut,  tut,  tut,  Nora,"  returned  Lydia  mechani- 
cally. 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  163 

"  But  Mr.  Van  Kirruk,  mem,  he  thinks  his  very 
eyes  of  her,  don't  he,  mem  ?  " 

"I  really  believe  he  does,"  returned  Miss  Bagg 
thoughtfully,  standing  by  a  window  and  looking 
down  into  the  street. 

Nora  advanced  on  tiptoe,  very  neat  in  her 
gingham  dress  and  white  apron. 

"  I  seen  him  kiss  her  hand  once,"  she  declared 
in  a  loud  whisper,  and  as  Miss  Bagg  gave  a  star- 
tled look  into  the  round  eyes  the  girl  nodded  her 
head  energetically. 

"  You  should  n't  have  seen  it,  Nora." 

"  I  could  n't  help  it,  mem.  They  was  by  the 
door,  and  I  was  jest  ferninst  on  the  stairs." 

"  You  might  have  been  mistaken." 

"  It  was  no  mistake  at  all,  mem."  Nora  shook 
her  head  emphatically.  "  If  it  had  been  bitin'  her 
he  was,  she  would  n't  'a'  looked  near  so  pleased. 
It 's  lots  less  than  bitiu'  '11  make  her  eyes  snap." 
The  girl  looked  about  cautiously.  "  Sure  they  '11 
be  gittin'  married  some  day,  mem,"  she  finished  in 
a  lowered  voice. 

"Well,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  "that  will  be  all 
right." 

"  Will  she  come  here  to  live  with  us,  mem  ? " 
asked  Nora  apprehensively. 

"Oh,  no,  I  think  not,"  replied  Miss  Lydia 
hastily. 

"  I  'm  glad  o'  that,  thin,  mem,  though  it  '11  be 
lonesome  without  Mr.  Van  Kirruk." 

At  this  juncture  Lydia  gave  a  little  start,  for 


164  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

she  caught  sight  from  the  window  of  the  figure  she 
was  awaiting. 

"  There  comes  Mrs.  Fuller  now,"  she  said.  "  Go 
down,  Nora,  and  ask  her  to  walk  up  here,  and  see 
that  we  are  not  disturbed  for  a  little  while." 

Shortly  afterward  Ida  entered  the  room,  grace- 
ful, gracious,  smiling.  "  Good-morning.  I  found 
you  had  flown  when  I  called  yesterday,"  she  said, 
coming  forward  breezily  to  kiss  Miss  Bagg. 

"  Yes,  I  had  a  fancy  to  see  if  I  could  find  my 
way  about  a  little,  alone,  and  I  succeeded  so  well 
that  I  discovered  a  new  friend,  —  a  connection  of 
the  family,  too,  —  a  Mrs.  Carlyle." 

"  Oh,  yes.  Mrs.  Carlyle  is  an  old  acquaintance 
of  mine." 

"  So  she  said.  Lay  off  your  coat  and  bonnet, 
Cousin  Ida  ;  I  want  to  see  you  particularly  this 
morning,  for  I  must  talk  to  you  about  something 
she  told  me." 

Mrs.  Fuller  obeyed  with  inward  exultation.  She 
had  little  doubt  as  to  what  was  weighing  on  Miss 
Bagg's  mind,  and  considered  it  a  most  favorable 
sign  that  she  should  incline  to  choose  herself  for  a 
confidante. 

Miss  Bagg  closed  the  door,  and  they  sat  down 
before  the  open  fire,  where  the  crackling  of  fra- 
grant logs  added  the  crowning  charm  to  the  cheer- 
fulness of  the  room. 

"Mrs.  Carlyle  told  me  the  story  of  Mr.  Van 
Kirk's  career,"  began  Miss  Bagg. 

"  Yes  ?  "  responded  Ida,  throwing  into  the  mon- 
osyllable much  plaintiveness. 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  165 

"  It  was  a  total  surprise  to  me." 

"  Oh,  believe  me,  we  always  knew  it,"  replied 
the  widow,  with  touching  earnestness.  "  Even 
Maxwell's  mother  knew  it.  We  knew  you  never 
dreamed  of  the  misery  you  unwittingly  caused." 

"  Misery  ?  "  exclaimed  Lydia  faintly. 

"  Why,  of  course,  it  could  not  be  otherwise. 
Knowing,  as  you  do  now,  the  whole  story,  you  can 
conceive  of  Max  well's  humiliation  before  all  his 
acquaintances,  his  commission  gone,  his  hopes 
dashed,  his  future  a  blank,  himself  the  butt  of 
general  ridicule,  —  ah,  poor  Max !  What  he  suf- 
fered !  So  young,  so  proud,  so  hopeful !  " 

She  clasped  her  hands,  sank  back  in  her  chair, 
and  with  drawn  forehead  gazed  at  the  leaping 
flame,  apparently  unconscious  of  Lydia's  nervously 
interlaced  fingers  and  quivering  curls. 

"  Poor  young  man,"  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg,  in 
heartfelt  tones  ;  "  how  nobly  he  has  behaved  !  " 

"  Ah,  you  may  well  say  so,"  murmured  Ida. 

"  His  mother,  too,"  went  on  Lydia  feelingly. 
"  Worthy  mother  of  such  a  son,  to  send  me  kind 
messages  under  the  circumstances." 

"  Cousin  Lydia,  forgive  me."  Ida  sat  up  and 
turned  her  palms  out  in  a  pretty  gesture  of  candid 
appeal.  "  I  have  deceived  you,  though  with  the 
best  motives.  Aunt  Elinor  has  been  too  crushed, 
too  unnerved,  to  send  you  messages.  Max  was  so 
desirous  you  should  not  be  troubled,  that  all  heart- 
burnings should  be  kept  from  you,  that  I  aided 
him  in  keeping  up  appearances.  Of  my  own  trials 


166  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

in  this  matter  I  say  nothing.  The  heart  knoweth 
its  own  bitterness."  Ida  rolled  up  her  eyes,  closed 
them,  and  leaned  back  again  in  her  chair,  leaving 
Miss  Bagg  in  a  more  chaotic  and  wretched  state 
of  mind  than  ever.  No  criminal  could  feel  more 
confounded  and  guilty  than  she  did  now. 

"  But  I  protest  against  all  this,  "  she  said  at 
last,  brokenly.  "  I  wish  to  make  things  right. 
No  one  can  prevent  me,  I  presume,  from  giving 
away  my  own. " 

Ida  did  not  unclose  her  eyes  at  once.  She  was 
too  stunned  with  delight  at  this  sudden  climax  of 
her  hopes  to  trust  herself. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  she  said  finally,  while 
her  heart  thumped  in  her  breast. 

"  Why,  what  do  I  want  with  more  money  than 
I  can  possibly  use  ?  "  cried  Lydia,  rising  and  be- 
ginning to  walk  to  and  fro.  "  I  do  not  want  it.  I 
have  n't  the  judgment  to  use  it.  Uncle  Jotham 
loved  dear  Mr.  Van  Kirk  and  cared  nothing  for 
me.  Now  that  I  know  how  his  plans  went  astray, 
it  is  the  plainest  of  plain  duties  for  me  to  set 
things  straight.  Why  was  this  kept  from  me  ?  " 

"  Max  "  —  began  Mrs.  Fuller,  almost  too  faint 
with  joy  to  speak. 

"  Yes,  I  know  his  high  honor  and  generous  heart, 
but  he  might  have  given  me  credit  for  some  honor 
too.  Let  me  go  to  him.  He  has  not  left  the 
house  yet." 

Ida  rose,  and  grasped  the  excited  woman's  arm. 
"  Let  me  go  first.  Let  me  go  first,"  she  exclaimed 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  167 

breathlessly.  "  You  come  in  a  few  minutes.  Bless 
you,  Miss  Bagg,  for  your  noble  generosity  !  "  She 
fled  from  the  room  and  down  the  stairs,  pausing 
outside  the  library  to  still  the  beating  of  her  heart 
and  regain  her  self-control.  At  last  she  turned 
the  handle  of  the  door  and  went  in.  Max  was 
seated  at  the  desk  with  his  back  to  her. 

"  I  want  to  see  you  a  minute,  Miss  Bagg,"  he 
said,  without  turning  his  head. 

Ida  floated  across  the  room  and  laid  her  hands 
lightly  across  his  eyes.  The  delicious,  elusive  per- 
fume he  associated  with  her  struck  his  senses. 
With  a  start  he  seized  her  hands  and,  still  holding 
them,  swung  about  in  his  chair  and  gazed  eagerly 
up  into  her  radiant  face.  She  had  never  been  so 
happy  and  she  had  never  looked  so  handsome  in 
her  life. 

"  Ida !  "  was  all  he  could  say,  and  he  kissed  the 
hands,  first  one  and  then  the  other,  while  she  still 
regarded  him  with  the  triumphant  smile  in  her 
eyes,  and  did  not  as  usual  withdraw  herself. 

"  What  is  it  that  makes  you  look  so  radiant  ?  " 
he  asked  rapturously,  bewildered  by  her  novel 
manner. 

"  I  have  been  listening  to  praise  of  you,"  she 
answered  slowly. 

He  rose  and  took  her  in  his  arms.  "  Then  you 
do  love  me,  Ida?  You  have  tested  yourself  and 
me  long  enough.  You  do  love  me  ?  "  he  exclaimed 
in  a  low  voice. 

She  yielded  passively  to  his  embrace,  and  looked 


1G8  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

up  into  his  shining  eyes.  "  It  is  Cousin  Lyclia 
\vho  has  been  sounding  your  praises,"  she  said 
softly. 

"  I  care  not  who  it  was,  so  they  found  an  echo 
in  your  heart,  my  darling." 

"  She  knows  all  your  story.  Cousin  Mary  Car- 
lyle  told  her  yesterday." 

"  Yes  ?  "  The  young  man's  thoughts  flashed  to 
the  breakfast-table  conversation,  and  he  vaguely 
understood  why  Miss  Lydia  had  talked  in  such  a 
novel  fashion;  but  he  had  little  interest  in  that 
now. 

"  You  do  love  me,  Ida?  "  he  repeated  ;  "you  will 
be  my  wife  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  softly,  aud  he  pressed  his 
lips  to  hers. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  Miss  Bagg,  consider- 
ing that  she  had  waited  quite  long  enough,  sud- 
denly opened  the  door.  At  the  tableau  she  beheld, 
she  uttered  an  irrepressible  little  squeak  and 
started  back,  crimsoning  to  the  roots  of  her  hair. 

"Come  right  in,  Miss  Bagg,"  said  Van  Kirk 
radiantly.  "Congratulate  me.  Mrs.  Fuller  has 
consented  to  be  my  wife." 

"  I  am  not  one  bit  surprised,"  replied  Lydia, 
making  the  best  of  the  situation  and  advancing  to 
give  a  hand  to  each.  "  I  have  believed  that  I  saw 
this  coming  ever  since  my  first  day  in  New  York. 
There  is  no  one  in  the  world  who  will  hope  more 
for  your  happiness  than  I  do.  Cousin  Ida  has 
been  a  kind  friend  to  me  right  along,  and  as  for 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  169 

you,  Mr.  Van  Kirk,"  —  Lyclia  freed  her  hand 
from  Ida's  to  press  it  upon  Maxwell's,  which  she 
already  held,  —  "  you  are  like  my  own.  I  could 
not  be  happy  unless  I  knew  you  to  be  so.  Ida 
has  doubtless  told  you  that  I  intend  to  right  the 
wrong  you  have  suffered,  so  far  as  a  woman  may." 

"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Fuller,  "  I  have  left  that  for 
you  to  do ;  but  I  have  told  him  that  you  know  all 
he  has  concealed." 

Miss  Bagg  released  the  strong  hand,  but  contin- 
ued to  look  affectionately  into  her  secretary's  face. 

"  How  soon  can  we  go  to  Mr.  Galbraith's  ?  " 
she  asked. 

Van  Kirk's  brain  was  too  heated  to  guess  her 
meaning  at  once.  "  What  have  you  to  do  there  ?  " 
he  asked,  again  slipping  his  arm  around  Ida. 

"  I  have  to  carry  out  Uncle  Jotham's  wishes," 
replied  Lydia  simply. 

"  What  is  this  ?  "  asked  Max,  beginning,  but  only 
in  a  half-interested  way,  to  perceive  her  meaning. 

"  Why,  I  intend  that  you  shall  have  your  rights, 
of  course,"  answered  Miss  Bagg. 

Van  Kirk  gazed  at  her,  half-smiling.  "  You  wish 
to  give  me  your  money  ?  " 

,  "  Not  all  of  it,  of  course,"  said  Ida,  and  her 
lover  could  feel  her  heart  begin  to  quicken  under 
his  hand. 

"  No,  of  course,  not  all  of  it,"  added  Lydia. 
"  I  know  you  too  well  to  propose  that.  I  shall 
keep  a  plenty  for  my  every  wish.  The  rest  I  de- 
sire and  intend  to  give  to  you." 


170  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  And  do  you  really  think  I  could  take  it  ?  " 

"Maxwell,  of  course  you  will  take  it,"  exclaimed 
Ida,  looking  up  at  him,  her  cheeks  burning.  "  It 
is  only  right.  It  burdens  Miss  Bagg.  To  be  rid 
of  it  will  relieve  her,  and  for  you  to  receive  it  will 
restore  harmony  to  your  mother,  to  you,  and  to  me, 
—  perhaps  even  to  Cousin  Jotham,  —  who  knows  ? 
Mr.  Galbraith  will  second  Miss  Bagg  strongly.  If 
you  love  me,  do  not  dream  of  refusing!  " 

Her  intense  tone,  Miss  Lydia's  earnest  gaze, 
enlightened  Van  Kirk  and  made  havoc  of  his 
dream  of  happiness.  Every  high  hope  was  sud- 
denly paralyzed.  A  merciless  chill  succeeded  to 
his  rapture.  He  seated  himself  in  the  chair  by 
the  desk,  and  turned  pale  as  he  stared  at  the 
carpet.  The  moment  was  pregnant  with  sickening 
disappointment,  a  thousand  times  greater  in  in- 
tensity than  that  had  been  which  proved  to  him 
the  loss  of  his  guardian's  fortune. 

The  women  thought  he  was  considering  Miss 
Bagg's  generous  offer.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he 
was  perceiving  in  pitiless  clearness  the  cause  of 
Ida's  sudden  graciousness,  and  receiving  the  death- 
blow to  his  obstinate  belief  in  her  truth  and 
womanliness. 

"  Sit  down,  Miss  Bagg.  Take  a  chair,  Ida,"  he 
said,  breaking  the  short  silence  and  speaking  with- 
out excitement.  "  I  am  sorry  I  have  kept  my 
promise  and  done  my  work  so  poorly,  Miss  Bagg, 
that  you  should  feel  burdened  with  anxiety." 

Lydia  flushed   with   eagerness.      "  Nothing   of 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  171 

the  sort,  my  dear  sir,  nothing  of  the  sort,"  she 
replied,  "  only  you  could  work  in  a  more  unham- 
pered fashion,  if  it  were  your  very  own  business, 
your  own  property,  you  were  handling.  I  think 
you  know  that  I  trust  you  implicitly.  Tell  me 
you  do,  Mr.  Van  Kirk." 

Max  met  her  anxious  gaze  with  grave  eyes.  He 
nodded.  "  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,"  he  re- 
plied quietly.  "  If  you  trust  Mr.  Galbraith  and 
me  implicitly,  can't  you  discard  the  sensation  that 
your  wealth  is  burdensome  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am  getting  quite  used  to  it,"  replied 
Lydia,  simply,  "  only  when  Mrs.  Carlyle  and  Ida 
told  me  so  much  of  what  you  had  been  through,  I 
naturally  wanted  to  make  things  right." 

"  Fool !  "  ejaculated  Mrs.  Fuller,  with  none  the 
less  heat  that  the  exclamation  was  mental. 

*'  I  should  admire  to  give  you  most  of  the 
money,"  continued  Miss  Bagg.  "  I  am  old-fash- 
ioned and  plain,  and  you  are  young  ;  your  friends 
are  all  fashionable  people,  and  you  have  use  for 
money ;  but  the  greatest  reason  of  all  is  that  Uncle 
Jotham  wished  it." 

"  We  have  no  proof  of  that,"  declared  \  an  Kirk 
shortly. 

"  How  can  you  say  such  a  thing  ?  "  demanded 
Ida. 

Miss  Bagg  lifted  a  deprecating  hand.  "  I  can 
tell  what  he  must  have  felt  for  you  by  my  own 
feelings,"  she  said.  *'  He  knew  you  and  watched 
your  progress  from  childhood.  I  have  known  you 


172  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

for  months  only.  Do  not  refuse  me,  dear  Mr. 
Van  Kirk." 

In  his  sickness  of  heart  Max  gave  perhaps  in- 
sufficient weight  to  the  speaker's  earnestness.  The 
fact  of  Ida's  cupidity  was  so  overpowering  that  the 
possession  or  non-possession  of  the  money  became 
immaterial  by  comparison.  Now  that  he  knew  that 
wealth  would  buy  her  and  that  wealth  was  attain- 
able he  would  not  have  it.  If  she  were  to  grow 
cold  toward  him  when  the  hope  of  it  was  with- 
drawn, he  preferred  to  know  the  truth  and  bear  the 
pain. 

"  I  must  refuse  you,  Miss  Bagg,"  he  began. 

"  Beware !  "  cried  Ida,  her  eyes  kindling.  "  I 
warned  you,  as  you  loved  me,  not  to  refuse.  Do 
you  go  on,  regardless  of  that  ?  " 

Miss  Bagg  regarded  the  excited  woman  with 
amazement. 

Max  looked  at  his  fiance'e,  and  spoke  with  quiet 
self-control.  "  The  subject  of  love  has  no  connec- 
tion with  this  business  matter,"  he  replied  deliber- 
ately. 

"  You  are  behaving  cruelly,  selfishly ! "  ex- 
claimed Mrs.  Fuller,  very  white.  "  Will  you  dash 
happiness  from  my  lips  a  second  time  ?  " 

Van  Kirk  winced  visibly. 

Miss  Bagg's  slight  form  seemed  to  dilate.  "  As 
you  speak  thus  before  me,  Mrs.  Fuller,"  she  said, 
with  righteous  indignation,  "  I  take  the  liberty  to 
remind  you  that  there  are  many  things  in  this 
world  that  money  will  not  buy.  The  love  of  a 


A  BROKEN  IDOL.  173 

prince  among  men  is  one  of  them.  You  are  the 
one  who  should  beware  lest  you  throw  it  away." 
She  rose.  "  I  will  leave  you  now ;  but  first,  Mr. 
Van  Kirk,  let  me  tell  you  seriously  that  I  feel  that 
you  have  a  moral  right  to  Uncle  Jotham's  money. 
This  subject  may  be  reopened  between  us  at  any 
time  you  like,  and  you  will  find  me  always  of  the 
same  mind  I  am  in  to-day." 

Van  Kirk  rose,  and  as  she  gazed  at  him  he  took 
both  her  hands.  "  Thank  you,  my  good  friend," 
he  answered.  "  Circumstances  make  me  firm  in 
my  intention  to  refuse  your  offer.  I  used  to  be- 
lieve that  wealth  would  bring  me  happiness.  I  do 
not  believe  it  now ;  I  thank  you,  though  —  thank 
you  with  all  my  heart." 

There  were  tears  in  Lydia's  eyes  as  she  passed 
out  of  the  door  and  closed  it  behind  her.  As  soon 
as  she  was  gone  Van  Kirk  advanced  and  stood  be- 
fore Ida,  who  returned  his  look  hardily. 

"What  is  going  to  be  done  about  this?"  he 
asked. 

She  smiled  ironically,  and  her  hands  grasped  a 
chair-back  behind  her.  "  I  suppose  you  are  going 
on,  a  grubbing  clerk,  for  the  rest  of  your  days  ?  " 
she  replied. 

"And  a  grubbing  clerk  is  an  individual  with 
whom  you  wish  to  have  nothing  to  do  ?  " 

She  looked  into  the  wretched  eyes  that  contra- 
dicted the  smile  on  the  pale  lips.  The  two  gazed 
at  each  other  in  silence  for  a  moment,  then  the 
hard  look  melted  from  Ida's  face,  and,  bursting 


174  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

into  tears,  she  flung  herself  on  the  broad  breast, 
and  the  man's  arms  closed  naturally  around  her. 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  he  asked. 

"I  cannot  give  you  up,"  she  sobbed.  "Why 
will  you  be  so  cruelly  obstinate  ?  " 

"  If  you  cannot  give  me  up,  we  shall  be  happy," 
he  answered  firmly.  "  Listen  to  your  heart,  and 
nothing  else." 

"  And  will  you  sacrifice  nothing  of  your  pride 
and  obstinacy  for  me  ?  "  she  asked,  clinging  to  him. 

"  I  will  not  sacrifice  my  self-respect  for  you ;  for 
if  you  ask  it  you  do  not  love  me,  and  if  you  do  not 
love  me  I  must  live  my  life  without  you." 

She  pushed  him  farther  from  her,  and  her  tears 
ceased.  "  Your  ideas  of  love  and  mine  differ,"  she 
said.  "  I  will  leave  you  to  think  these  matters 
over.  I  cannot  believe  you  will  prove  obdurate. 
Take  a  little  time  to  choose  between  your  Quixot- 
ism and  me.  No,  do  not  speak.  I  love  you.  I 
shall  never  love  any  other.  I  never  have  loved 
any  other.  Max,"  —  she  glided  back  close  to  him 
and  kissed  him  ardently,  —  "  show  that  you  love 
me." 

Hastening  then  from  the  room,  she  closed  the 
door  behind  her  and,  sending  for  her  wraps  by  a 
servant,  left  the  house  without  again  seeing  Miss 
Bagg. 

Van  Kirk  sat  down  at  the  desk  and  supported 
his  head  between  his  closed  hands.  Hours  passed 
away  ere  he  changed  his  attitude,  and  the  house 
was  as  still  as  a  house  of  mourning. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

OLIVE  MEETS  THE  JUDGE. 

WHEN  he  finally  stirred  from  his  cramped  posi- 
tion, it  was  to  touch  the  spring  of  a  secret  drawer 
in  the  desk  before  him,  and  to  take  therefrom  a 
little  bundle  of  letters.  It  was  a  package  which 
Mr.  Galbraith  had  found  among  Mr.  Bagg's 
effects  and  had  given  to  Max,  who  returned  it  to 
the  secret  drawer  which  had  been  its  home  for 
many  decades.  He  had  never  examined  these  let- 
ters, and  now  some  fresh  feeling  of  tenderness  for 
the  old  man  led  him  to  take  them  out  of  their 
wrapping  and  gaze  at  them  curiously.  They  were 
rather  loosely  tied  with  a  bit  of  twine,  and  were  all 
folded  and  addressed  in  the  fashion  which  pre- 
vailed before  envelopes  were  invented.  The  ad- 
dresses were  written  in  a  fine  hand,  and  had  faded 
almost  to  illegibility.  Max  untied  the  package 
and  ran  the  letters  over,  counting  them  idly.  On 
one  he  observed  that  across  the  address  there  were 
lines  written  blackly  in  Mr.  Bagg's  well-known 
hand.  There  was  a  date  in  the  corner,  that  of  his 
last  dinner-party.  How  long,  long  ago  it  seemed 
as  Max  looked  back ! 

This  is  what  he  read  in  the  old  man's  writing : 


176  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  There  has  been  a  girl  here  to-night  with  your 
name,  singing  your  song  in  a  voice  nearly  as  sweet 
as  yours.  The  old  times  came  back  to  me.  I  have 
been  reading  this,  your  last  letter,  again.  I  was 
wrong,  all  wrong.  I  wonder  if  you  have  forgiven 
me  ?  I  have  done  what  I  could  for  Max,  but  1  will 
do  more.  For  your  sake  I  have  just  destroyed  my 
will,  and  to-morrow  I  will  make  another,  leaving 
him  everything.  My  dear  boy,  all  that  I  have  of 
you  now.  He  must  possess  all  that  is  mine  to 
give.  I  wonder  if  you  will  know  ?  " 

That  was  all.  A  moisture  crept  into  Van  Kirk's 
eyes  as  he  finished.  In  his  present  mood  this 
revelation  of  his  guardian's  heart  and  the  adjective 
applied  to  himself  touched  him  deeply.  He  slipped 
the  one  of  his  grandmother's  letters  bearing  the 
message  into  his  pocket-book  ;  then  after  thought- 
fully turning  the  others  over  once  more  he  carried 
them  across  the  room  to  the  open  fire  and  laid 
them  on  the  red  coals,  where  with  a  sudden  bril- 
liant blaze  all  the  record  of  girlish  joys  and  sorrows 
that  filled  their  pages  vanished  forever.  So  here 
was  proof  in  black  and  white  of  his  old  friend's  in- 
tention toward  him.  How  nearly  the  glory  of  this 
world  had  been  within  his  grasp !  Had  he  been 
older,  or  had  the  ten  years  of  his  youth  and  man- 
hood been  spent  in  different  surroundings,  the  idea 
might  have  been  more  intoxicating  to  him.  As  it 
was,  the  longing  for  this  wealth  had  shown  those 
nearest  and  dearest  to  him  in  a  degrading  light. 
His  mother  had  collapsed  mentally  and  physically 


OLIVE  MEETS  THE  JUDGE.  177 

• 

in  sheer  anger  and  mortification  at  its  loss.  His 
dainty,  graceful,  beloved  cousin  —  he  could  not 
bear  the  thought  of  her  recent  looks  and  words. 

As  he  stood  watching  the  shriveling,  blackening 
paper  on  the  hearth,  there  came  to  him  the  story  of 
a  king,  who,  demanding  of  a  philosopher  a  phrase 
which  should  alike  modify  too  violent  joy  and  con- 
sole in  the  deepest  affliction,  received  for  his  an- 
swer :  "  This,  too,  will  pass." 

"  This,  too,  will  pass,"  thought  the  young  man. 
"  Some  day  somebody  will  burn  my  letters  and 
give  me  a  wondering,  compassionate  thought." 

Then  he  looked  at  his  watch.  It  was  half  past 
three.  He  must  go  to  the  office.  As  he  passed 
through  the  hall  he  met  Miss  Bagg,  who  started  at 
sight  of  him. 

"  Mr.  Van  Kirk !  Have  you  been  in  the  house 
all  this  time  ?  Why?  you  have  had  no  lunch." 

"  True.  I  forgot  it.  I  must  hurry  down-town 
now.  I  will  get  something." 

He  passed  out,  leaving  Lydia  in  deep  trouble  of 
mind.  She  gave  free  rein  now  to  the  intuitive 
shrinking  from  Mrs.  Fuller  which  she  had  fought 
against  ever  since  they  first  met. 

A  great  man  has  vigorously  said :  "  Don't  talk* 
What  you  are  thunders  so  loudly  above  what  you 
say  that  I  cannot  hear  you." 

No  matter  to  Miss  Bagg  henceforth  what  the 
young  widow  might  say ;  a  look  in  her  eyes,  a 
tone  in  her  voice,  there  in  the  library,  were  im- 
pressed upon  Lydia's  memory  iueffaceably.  She 


178  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

1 

wondered  if  the  lover  had  seen  and  heard  with  her 
eyes  and  ears.  She  wondered  what  had  occurred 
after  she  left  the  room,  and  while  timidly  and  ten- 
derly compassionating  the  young  man's  sorrow, 
she  hoped  most  heartily  that  the  tie  which  bound 
him  to  his  cousin  had  been  severed,  no  matter  how 
rudely.  She  walked  up  and  down  the  hall  after 
Max  had  disappeared,  deep  in  thought  Suddenly 
she  stopped  and  clasped  her  hands.  "  I  have 
been  a  fool  !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  It  would  be  ruin- 
ous if  I  should  give  him  the  money.  I  see  it  now. 
She  would  marry  him  then,  of  course.  If  his  love 
for  her  is  strong  enough  to  force  him  to  change 
his  mind,  and  he  should  come  to  me  and  say  so,  I 
must  be  firm.  I  must  take  back  my  promise.  I 
must  break  my  word.  She  is  so  unworthy  of  him. 
She  will  never  marry  him  without  the  money,  and 
she  shall  never  marry  him  for  it,  for  I  will  hold 
on  to  every  cent —  every  cent! " 

Lydia  began  to  walk  up  and  down  again,  en- 
grossed in  her  exciting  thoughts,  when  a  latch- 
key turned  in  the  lock  of  the  hall  door,  which 
opened,  revealing  her  secretary  followed  by  two 
ladies. 

M I  met  these  people  on  the  walk  and  came 
back  to  see  that  they  found  you,"  he  said,  and 
stood  aside  for  Mrs.  Carlyle  to  pass  and  receive 
Miss  Bagg's  cordial  greeting.  He  turned  to  Olive 
under  cover  of  their  words. 

"  Do  you  remember  singing  *  Mary  of  Argyle ' 
the  last  time  you  were  in  this  house  ?  "  he  asked. 


OLIVE  MEETS  THE  JUDGE.  179 

"  Indeed  I  do,  and  how  it  amazed  me  that  Cou- 
sin Jotham  liked  it." 

"  Liked  it  so  much  that  he  made  a  memoran- 
dum of  the  occurrence  on  a  bit  of  paper  which  I 
just  found  in  ins  desk." 

"  It  excited  you  to  find  it.  You  are  pale,"  said 
the  girl. 

"  Yes,  it  was  like  a  message  from  another  world, 
but  I  thought  you  would  be  pleased  to  know." 

"  So  I  am,"  she  answered,  and  her  innocent  eyes 
dwelt  upon  his  wonderingly.  It  was  a  new 
thought  to  her  that  Max  had  really  loved  the  old 
man  so  much.  His  face  was  quite  changed.  But 
her  mother  was  speaking :  — 

"This  is  my  big,  little  girl,"  she  was  saying, 
and  Olive  instantly  came  forward  to  make  a  con- 
quest of  Miss  Lydia's  heart. 

"  This  is  your  daughter,"  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg, 
taking  the  girl's  hand  and  gazing  at  her  loveliness 
with  deep  pleasure. 

"  And  I  am  so  glad  to  meet  you,"  said  Olive, 
returning  her  look  with  frank  interest. 

"  Are  you,  my  dear  ?  I  hope  we  shall  be 
friends." 

"  I  will  say  good-by  once  more,"  said  Van  Kirk, 
seeing  that  all  was  likely  to  go  easily  without  him. 

The  three  turned  and  nodded  as  he  passed  out. 

"  Now  I  am  going  to  take  you  right  up  to  my 
room,"  announced  Miss  Bagg.  "  No  drawing-room 
visits  with  you.  We  shall  just  have  a  cosy  sit- 
down  together.  You  will  see  I  have  the  nicest 


180  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

room  for  it  in  the  world,  thanks  to  —  yes,  to  Mrs. 
Fuller.     Come  up." 

They  followed  her  upstairs,  where  the  lovely 
apartment  burst  upon  the  Carlyles'  view,  and 
elicited  exclamations  of  admiration  which  Lydia 
scarcely  heard. 

"You  are  going  to  take  your  things  off  ?  "  she 
said,  with  such  evident  anxiety  that  they  should 
consent,  that  mother  and  daughter  smiled  and 
glanced  at  one  another. 

"  Oh,  you  must,"  added  the  hostess  insistently. 
"  Ever  since  I  met  you  yesterday,  Mrs.  Carlyle,  I 
have  been  making  the  most  of  our  connection  in 
my  mind.  Did  your  mother  tell  you  ?  "  —  turning 
to  Olive. 

"Yes,  it  was  quite  an  adventure,  even  for 
mother,  who  is  always  having  adventures." 

A  maid  with  red  hair,  who  had  been  sitting  in  a 
corner  of  the  room  mending,  here  came  forward 
and  took  Mrs.  Carlyle's  bonnet  as  she  removed  it. 

"  These  ladies  are  kinsfolk  of  mine,  Nora,"  said 
Miss  Bagg,  and  by  her  sprightly  tone  Nora  knew 
that  this  visit  pleased  her  mistress  exceedingly. 

She  gazed  at  Olive  with  the  most  candid  admi- 
ration. 

"  Sure  I  'm  glad  they  've  found  ye,  mem,"  she 
said. 

"  So  am  I,"  added  Olive.  "  I  never  saw  such  a 
pretty  room  in  my  life." 

"  Neither  had  I  before  I  came  here,"  remarked 
Miss  Bagg ;  "  but  then  I  had  seen  very  little." 


OLIVE  MEETS  THE  JUDGE.  181 

"  It  did  not  look  like  this  in  Cousin  Jotham's 
lifetime,"  said  Olive. 

Miss  Lyclia  regarded  her  with  interest.  "  If  he 
was  Cousin  Jotham,  I  am  Cousin  Lydia,"  she  re- 
marked. "  Do  you  think  you  can  make  a  cousin 
of  me  at  short  notice  ?  " 

Olive  smiled  and  colored,  looking  prettier  than 
ever. 

"  Thank  you  for  letting  me  try,"  she  answered. 
"  I  imagine  it  will  come  very  naturally.  Oh,  you 
have  a  parrot." 

She  had  removed  her  hat  and  jacket,  and  in  her 
best  dress  of  rough,  dark  material  moved  across 
the  room.  Nora  simply  gazed  after  her,  forgetting 
the  wraps  with  which  her  arms  were  laden. 

"Oh,  you  funny  Polly,"  said  Olive,  standing 
by  the  cage  looking  at  the  Judge,  who,  perhaps  in 
ironical  recognition  of  the  despised  name,  looked 
at  her  sentimentally,  puffing  out  his  cheeks  and 
allowing  his  beak  to  part  slightly,  giving  the  effect 
of  an  insipid  smile.  "  Does  she  talk,  Miss  —  Cou- 
sin Lydia  ?  " 

The  Judge  suddenly  laughed  in  his  deep  bass, 
and  the  visitor  followed  suit  in  her  girlish  treble. 

"  Oh,  what  a  voice  !  "  she  ejaculated,  and  Nora 
came  forward  like  an  animated  hat-rack. 

"  Indade  he  can  talk,  mem,"  she  said  eagerly, 
for  Miss  Bagg  was  busy  with  Mrs.  Carlyle,  whose 
attention  had  been  attracted  by  a  fine  etching. 
"  He  knows  iverything,  the  Joodge  does." 

"  I  wish  she  would  talk,  then,"  replied  Olive. 


182  MISS  BAGWS  SECRETARY. 

"  'T  ain't  a  she  at  all,  mem.  His  name  is  Joodge, 
mem,  an'  he  knows  it  jest  like  a  Christian,  mem," 
replied  Nora  volubly. 

"  Oh  !     Have  you  had  him  long  ?  " 

"  Miss  Bagg  has  had  him  always,  mem.  Sure, 
I  guess  they  miss  him  in  Ashley,  where  we  did 
live  before  we  carne  here.  Iverybody  knew  the 
Joodge." 

"  Is  n't  he  wise-looking  ?  See  him  stare  at 
me." 

"He's  that  wise,  mem,  ye  wouldn't  belave  it. 
Our  house  in  Ashley  was  half-way  up  a  hill,  mem, 
an'  in  the  summer-time,  whin  the  Joodge  hung 
outdoors,  mem,  he  was  after  drivin'  the  fanners 
wild,  mem.  Whin  they  was  ridin'  by  with  a 
heavy-loaded  wagon,  jest  as  they  'd  be  passin'  our 
house  the  Judge  would  holler  out  '  Whoa ! '  an' 
the  horses  would  stop,  an'  niver  a  bit  could  they 
get  the  load  up  the  hill,  mem,  till  the  driver  'ml 
come  to  me  an'  shake  his  fist  an'  tell  me  take  that 
bir'rd  in." 

Olive  laughed.     "  You  naughty  bird,"  she  said. 

The  Judge  looked  at  her.  "  Come,  kiss  me,"  he 
said,  following  the  invitation  by  realistic  oscula- 
tion. 

"  He  '11  talk  fast  enough,  mem,  whin  he  hears 
the  rest  o'  yez  talkin',"  said  Nora,  becoming  con- 
scious of  her  burden  and  bearing  it  away  to  the 
adjoining  room. 

This  visit  of  the  Carlyles  was  the  first  of  many. 
Lydia  grew  very  fond  of  mother  and  daughter  and 


OLIVE  MEETS  THE  JUDGE.  183 

they  of  her.  She  spent  many  a  Wednesday  even- 
ing at  the  house  in  Twenty-fourth  Street.  Lydia 
was  eager  to  help  in  Mrs.  Carlyle's  good  work,  and 
her  personal  interest  was  added  to  the  open  purse 
with  which  she  aided  that  lady  in  her  schemes, 
while  Van  Kirk  dispensed  the  regular  sums  which 
were  applied  for,  for  more  conventional  charities. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  and  Mrs.  Fuller  left  the  city 
and  repaired  to  some  Southern  resort  in  the  effort 
to  restore  the  former's  health.  Miss  Bagg  could 
not  discover  on  what  terms  Max  and  his  cousin 
had  parted.  She  did  not  even  know  whether  their 
engagement  continued.  Her  secretary's  manner 
told  her  little.  He  seemed  to  have  lost  a  certain 
boyish  gayety  which  in  the  first  days  of  their  ac- 
quaintance had  frequently  belonged  to  his  manner  ; 
but  that  might  be  due  to  the  engrossing  nature  of 
his  novel  business  cares.  She  saw  little  of  him 
except  at  meals.  He  seemed  glad  to  know  of  the 
pleasure  she  experienced  in  her  intimacy  with  the 
Carlyles,  and  was  uniformly  courteous  and  polite 
to  her,  but  so  far  as  she  could  discover  he  did  not 
go  into  society  at-  all  and  lived  a  life  absorbed  in 
business  duties,  which  dissatisfied  her. 

The  winter  wore  away,  and  spring,  which  is 
often  truly  "  lovely  spring  "  in  New  York,  took  its 
place.  Flowers,  if  not  to  be  plucked  from  the 
stone  pavements,  were  to  be  had  for  small  price  at 
every  corner,  and  bloomed  in  shop-windows  and  in 
the  buttonhole  of  nearly  every  passer-by. 

How  Olive  Carlyle  enjoyed  the  drives  which  she 


184  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

took  with  Miss  Bagg  in  Central  Park  !  The  grati- 
tude and  delight  of  the  fresh  young  girl  gave  Miss 
Bagg  some  of  the  keenest  satisfaction  she  had  ever 
known.  Olive's  fondness  for  her  was  genuine,  and 
Lydia  felt  it  with  lively  pleasure. 

One  day  when  the  latter  entered  the  now  famil- 
iar parlor  on  Twenty-fourth  Street,  the  girl  drew 
aside  the  portiere  and  led  her  friend  to  the  easel, 
where,  draped  about  with  soft  silk,  Miss  Bagg  be- 
held a  life-size  crayon  portrait  of  herself.  It  was 
delicately  done  and  very  truthful.  The  little  curls, 
the  slender  nose,  the  thin  lips,  were  all  portrayed 
with  a  nice  touch. 

Lydia  looked  at  it  half  a  minute  in  silence,  then 
suddenly  burying  her  face  in  her  hands  she  burst 
into  uncontrollable  tears. 

"Dear  Cousin  Lydia,"  exclaimed  Olive,  dis- 
tressed, throwing  her  arms  around  her,  "  why  do 
you  cry  ?  Tell  me." 

"It  is  so  si-si-silly,"  sobbed  the  little  woman. 
"  I  'm  ash-sh-shamed." 

"  Dear  me,"  returned  poor  Olive.  "  I  did  not 
think  you  would  take  it  this  way.  I  was  wrong  to 
surprise  you." 

"  Forgive  me,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  speaking  thickly, 
but  regaining  her  self-control.  "  I  am  ashamed  to 
tell  what  made  me  so  foolish ;  but  I  must  tell  you 
or  you  will  misunderstand."  She  wiped  her  eyes. 
"  My  first  thought  was  of  the  beautiful  work  you 
have  put  into  that  portrait ;  my  second,  that  it 
was  a  pity  that  there  was  nobody  in  the  world  to 


OLIVE  MEETS  THE  JUDGE.  185 

care  for  such  a  great  picture  of  me ;  and  that 
made  me  feel  so  lonely  that.  I  —  I  —  cried.  It 
was  so  selfish  and  silly  that  I  am  disgusted  with 
myself.  But,  oh,  Olive,"  —  she  took  the  girl's 
hand  and  drew  her  closer,  —  "  get  married,  dear, 
and  have  children  to  love  you  and  think  there  is 
no  one  in  the  world  like  mother.  It  is  hard  to  be 
alone." 

The  girl  kissed  her  cheek.  "  You  are  not  alone. 
I  '11  not  let  you  say  it.  Whom  did  you  suppose 
this  picture  was  for  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  supposed,"  replied  Miss  Bagg,  tim- 
idly, "  that  you  made  it  for  me.  Did  n't  you  ?  " 

"No,  I  did  not  do  anything  of  the  kind.  I 
don't  make  pictures  for  fun  —  ever.  That  was  an 
order.  That  is  mother's  picture.  She  wants  to 
hang  it  in  the  parlor  for  our  own  benefit  and  also 
where  the  girls  can  look  at  it  Sunday  and  Wednes- 
day nights.  They  are  beginning  to  regard  you  as 
their  patron  saint,  you  know.  I  ought  to  charge 
her  full  price  for  it,  but  she  says  if  I  do  she  will 
send  me  a  board  bill,  so  I  refrain." 

"  Oh  !  "  Miss  Bagg  crossed  her  hands  before 
her,  and  regarded  the  portrait  with  a  thoughtful 
smile.  "  It  is  a  beautiful  picture  —  of  a  homely 
woman,"  she  said  after  a  while. 

"  Of  a  dear  woman,"  added  Olive,  emphasizing 
the  correction  with  a  little  hug. 

"  You  do  make  lovely  pictures,"  continued  Ly- 
dia.  "  Do  you  know,  I  've  thought  sometimes  as  I 
have  watched  you  at  work  that  I  would  like  to 
have  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Van  Kirk.  " 


186  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"Apollo  with  a  mustache?"  suggested  Olive, 
stepping  forward  and  rearranging  the  silken  dra- 
pery. 

"  Could  you  do  it  for  me  ?  " 

"  Well,  Miss  Bagg,  —  I  dare  say  I  could." 

"Right  off?" 

"  If  you  can  give  me  the  photograph.  There 
was  a  perfect  one  in  Cousin  Jotham's  album." 

"  Do  you  like  to  be  paid  in  advance  ?  "  asked 
Miss  Bagg. 

Olive  laughed.  "  Oh,  no.  No  satisfaction,  no 
pay,  is  my  unalterable  rule.  In  this  case  it  ought 
to  be  no  pay  at  all.  You  give  me  so  much  plea- 
sure." 

"Not  half  so  much  as  you  give  me,"  replied 
Lydia  sincerely.  "  It  is  only  right  I  should  pay 

you." 

So  far  in  their  acquaintance,  though  constantly 
visiting,  or  driving,  or  dining  in  their  company, 
Miss  Bagg  had  not  given  Olive  or  her  mother  a 
present  of  any  sort.  Their  simple,  plain  way  of 
living  and  dressing  seemed  as  comfortable  to  her 
as  her  own.  From  her  long  habits  of  economy  it 
simply  did  not  occur  to  her  to  spend  money  for 
what  she  did  not  see  to  be  necessary.  They  knew 
she  was  not  stingy.  That  was  evident  in  the  will- 
ing, even  eager,  alacrity  with  which  she  gave  to 
the  needy  when  she  found  them  through  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle;  but  this  state  of  things  made  it  the  easier 
for  Olive  to  enter  into  a  business  arrangement 
with  her  now. 


OLIVE  MEETS  THE  JUDGE.  187 

"  You  know  you  said  you  never  do  pictures  for 
fun,"  added  Miss  Bagg,  smiling. 

"  But  that  one  would  be  fun,"  answered  Olive, 
her  softly  curved  cheeks  warming. 

"  All  the  better  for  you.  You  should  have  a 
good  subject  now  and  then." 

"You  never  suspected  why  I  begged  you  to 
have  your  picture  taken,"  said  Olive  gayly. 

"  No,  indeed.  How  should  I  ?  Now,  I  am  going 
to  drive  right  home  and  see  if  I  can  get  that  pho- 
tograph, and  we  will  surprise  Mr.  Van  Kirk." 

"Not  unless  he  promises  not  to  burst  into 
tears,"  replied  Olive  saucily. 

"  Ah,  there  are  plenty  to  care  for  his  picture," 
said  Lydia  plaintively. 

"But  Ida  Fuller  will  probably  claim  it,"  re- 
turned the  girl  quickly.  Miss  Bagg  stopped  as 
she  was  crossing  the  room  and  looked  full  at 
Olive. 

"What  do  you  know  about  that?"  she  de- 
manded. 

"  Nothing,"  responded  the  other  with  lively  in- 
terest. "What  do  you?" 

"  Oh,  I  thought  they  were  mutually  interested," 
replied  Miss  Bagg  cautiously.  The  day  she  left 
the  engaged  couple  in  the  library,  she  registered  a 
wise  mental  vow  to  say  nothing  to  any  one  of  rela- 
tions which  seemed  so  suddenly  to  become  strained. 

As  days  went  by  and  Mr.  Van  Kirk  did  not 
allude  to  his  cousin,  she  was  strengthened  in  this 
determination.  It  was  often  a  hard  trial  to  keep 


188  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

silence  to  the  Carlyles,  since  she  was  so  truly  at- 
tached to  the  young  man  under  her  roof,  and  now 
she  had  hoped  Olive  might  know  something  of  the 
matter.  Evidently  she  did  not ;  but  the  girl  nodded 
her  fair  head  wisely. 

"  I  am  sure  they  are  mutually  interested,"  she 
said.  "  I  think  he  has  been  dismally  blue  ever 
since  she  left  town.  I  am  often  tempted  to  say 
something  saucy  to  him  when  he  comes  here.  Why 
should  he  expect  us  to  console  him  ?  "  Then,  after 
a  pause :  "  Where  has  he  been  lately  ?  He  has  not 
been  here  for  more  than  two  weeks." 

"  Don't  ask  me.  The  poor  fellow  works  too 
hard,  but  he  is  coming  now,  on  paper,  as  fast  as 
horses  can  bring  him,"  returned  Miss  Bagg  briskly, 
"  so  good-by  for  a  time.  In  Uncle  Jotham's  album, 
you  said  ?  " 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ME.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE. 

THE  wife  of  Judge  Spencer,  the  great  lady  of 
Ashley,  had  kept  'up  her  interest  in  the  woman 
whom  Dame  Fortune  had  snatched  from  that  little 
hamlet.  Her  occasional  letters  with  their  bits  of 
home  news  had  been  eagerly  welcomed  by  Lydia 
throughout  the  winter,  and  were  a  valued  link  con- 
necting her  with  the  old  life. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  May  when  a  letter 
from  Mrs.  Spencer  arrived,  and  was  handed  to 
Miss  Bagg  one  evening  at  the  moment  when  she 
was  about  to  sit  down  to  dinner.  Sometimes  this 
meal  was  a  solitary  one,  but  on  this  occasion  her 
secretary  took  his  place  opposite  her. 

Miss  Bagg  felt  that  all  was  not  well  with  this 
young  man.  A  line  had  come  in  his  forehead 
since  he  had  been  under  her  roof.  He  never 
laughed  any  more.  The  boy  had  changed  to  a 
man  before  her  eyes.  There  was  no  hope  of  pen- 
etrating his  reserve,  of  helping  him  in  any  way. 
His  courtesy  to  her  continued  unfailing,  but  his 
manner  did  not  invite  sympathy.  Miss  Bagg  was 
forced  to  make  indifferent  conversation,  or  to  keep 
up  her  own  part  in  it,  when  her  kind  heart  was 


190  MISS  BAGG'S  SECEETABY. 

longing  to  help  him  with  all  its  resources.  The 
Carlyles  were  a  blessing  to  her  as  furnishing  sub- 
jects in  which  she  could  take  unaffected  interest, 
and  which  sometimes  struck  an  answering  spark 
from  Max ;  and  to-night  as  she  tore  open  her  let- 
ter to  give  an  anticipatory  glance  over  its  contents 
before  the  deliberate  reading,  some  words  caught 
her  eye  which  reminded  her  that  here,  too,  was 
something  that  she  could  share  with  Van  Kirk. 

"  You  know  I  was  telling  you,"  she  said,  looking 
at  her  vis-a-vis  and  slipping  the  letter  back  into  its 
envelope,  "  that  a  boy  from  our  place  entered  the 
academy  at  West  Point  some  two  or  three  years 
ago.  This  Mrs.  Spencer  who  writes  to  me  is  his 
mother.  Such  a  time  as  there  was  when  he  passed 
the  competitive  examination  and  then  was  admitted 
to  the  academy !  The  judge  was  delighted ;  but 
poor  Mrs.  Spencer  nearly  cried  her  eyes  out.  She 
never  wanted  him  to  go,  and  if  ever  there  was  a 
boy  that  was  homesick  and  miserable,  I  guess 
Ralph  Spencer  was  that  boy  the  first  year  he  was 
there." 

"  Not  an  unprecedented  experience,"  remarked 
Max  as  she  paused. 

"  Were  you  homesick  ?  "  asked  Lydia. 

"  I  believe  I  was,"  returned  Van  Kirk.  Miss 
Bagg  was  glad  to  see  him  smile,  and  determined  to 
make  all  the  capital  possible  out  of  her  subject. 

"  I  judge  from  what  little  I  saw  in  the  letter 
that  Ralph  is  nearly  through  there,"  she  contin- 
ued. 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE.  191 

"  Then  his  homesickness  is  a  thing  of  the  past, 
and  all  he  pines  for  now  is  freedom." 

"  I  guess  so.  He  was  home  last  summer  for  the 
first  time  in  two  years,  and  he  bad  one  or  two  of  his 
classmates  with  him  ;  I  did  n't  see  him,  but  was  n't 
Mrs.  Spencer  a  proud  and  happy  woman,  and 
did  n't  those  young  men  make  a  stir  in  that  quiet 
little  town !  They  only  staid  a  short  time,  then 
they  all  went  off  somewhere  together ;  the  judge, 
Mrs.  Spencer,  Baby,  and  all." 

"The  young  men  could  have  dispensed  with 
Baby,  no  doubt,"  remarked  Van  Kirk. 

"Oh,  she  and  her  brother  are  devoted  to  one 
another.  No,  indeed ;  if  anybody  was  to  be  left 
behind  it  would  n't  be  Baby.  That  is  what  seems 
to  be  the  matter  now,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  taking  the 
letter  from  her  pocket.  "  Some  disappointment  to 
Baby  is  troubling  her  mother.  It  is  about  West 
Point,  so  I  '11  just  read  it :  — 

" '  A  great  disappointment  has  befallen  Baby. 
This  year  Ralph  goes  into  his  first-class  camp,  and 
it  is  a  time  they  have  looked  forward  to  as  a  great 
occasion  for  Baby  to  visit  him.  Now  my  poor 
sister  has  decided  to  submit  to  an  operation  which 
will  give  her  her  only  chance  for  life.  It  must 
take  place  in  June.  If  she  lives,  I  could  not  think 
of  leaving  her,  and  if  she  does  not,  Baby  would 
have  but  a  sad  visit,  for  of  course  she  could  not 
enter  into  the  gayety  of  the  post.  I  wish  I  could 
hear  of  some  one  going  there  for  the  graduation 
exercises  who  would  be  willing  to  take  my  poor 


192  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

child  under  her  wing  and  let  her  have  another  sight 
of  her  brother  before  anything  occurs  to  sadden 
us.'" 

Miss  Bagg  paused  and  looked  up. 

"  From  all  of  which  I  gather  that  Baby  is  some- 
what more  mature  then  her  name  would  signify," 
remarked  Max. 

"Yes:  I  suppose  she  is  about  eighteen  or  so. 
It  is  a  nickname." 

"  Well,  your  friend  is  not  above  giving  you  a 
broad  hint." 

"  Me  ?  You  don't  suppose  she  wants  me  to  go 
as  —  as"  — 

"  As  nurse-girl  ?     Yes,  it  looks  like  it." 

"  Why,  I  never  thought  of  such  a  thing.  What 
in  the  world  should  I  go  to  West  Point  for  ?  " 

"  For  the  same  reason  that  scores  of  other  peo- 
ple go,  —  to  see  one  of  the  prettiest  places  in  the 
country.  What  sort  of  a  creature  is  the  —  a  — 
young  person  ?  Inclined  to  suck  her  thumb  and 
behave  in  a  generally  inoffensive  manner?  " 

"I  am  not  much  acquainted  with  Baby,"  an- 
swered Lydia.  "  She  has  been  away  at  school  ever 
since  she  entered  her  teens.  I  feel  that  she  has 
grown  entirely  away  from  me." 

"  What  had  you  thought  of  doing  for  your  sum- 
mer outing  ?  "  asked  Van  Kirk. 

"  I  had  n't  thought  of  taking  any." 

"  Oh,  you  will  have  to  go  somewhere,  of  course. 
You  can't  stay  in  town  in  the  heat." 

"  Then  I  shall  ask  the  Carlyles  what  they  are 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE.  193 

going  to  do.  Perhaps  they  will  let  me  go  with 
them." 

Max  shook  his  head.  "  I  doubt  if  they  do  any- 
thing beyond  going  to  Coney  Island  occasionally 
for  a  day." 

"  Then  why  can't  I  do  the  same  ?  " 

"  You  can,  if  you  like ;  but  there  is  no  reason  for 
it.  The  Carlyles  would  take  more  of  a  vacation  if 
they  could." 

"Oh,"  said  Lydia  again.  Her  mind  did  not 
move  quickjy,  and  while  she  grappled  with  this 
new  idea  Max  looked  at  her  and  smiled  with  more 
of  his  old  expression  than  she  had  seen  for  many 
a  day. 

"  You  remind  me  of  a  canary  which  my  mother 
once  brought  home  from  a  bird-store.  She  had 
bought  a  roomy  cage  for  its  accommodation,  and 
she  removed  two  of  the  rods  in  the  side  of  the  tiny 
wooden  prison  which  had  been  the  creature's  home 
hitherto,  and  drove  him  into  his  new  one.  Hop- 
ping in,  the  bird  stood  on  the  floor  of  the  large 
cage,  and,  although  looking  all  about  him,  did  not 
attempt  to  fly  up  to  the  perch  so  comparatively  far 
away.  Instead  of  that,  he  turned  around  and 
around  in  the  same  spot,  unable  for  some  time  to 
believe  that  he  was  able  to  make  any  other  than 
the  circumscribed  movements  which  he  had  been 
so  long  accustomed  to.  Do  you  read  my  para- 
ble?" 

"  Mr.  Van  Kirk !  "  exclaimed  Lydia,  hiding  her 
delight  to  see  him  regard  her  with  something  of 


194  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

the  old  spirit  under  a  tone  of  mock  severity,  "  I 
shall  go  to  Europe,  if  you  are  not  careful !  " 

"  All  in  good  time,"  rejoined  Max  ;  "  but  first  I 
advise  you  to  go  to  West  Point,  and  take  Olive 
Carlyle  with  you." 

"  Why,  you  don't  say  so,"  ejaculated  Miss  Bagg. 

"  Yes.  It  would  be  giving  the  girl  such  a  treat 
as  she  never  had  in  her  life,  and  you  would  have  a 
pleasant  companion." 

"  I  suppose  it  would  oblige  Mrs.  Spencer  very 
much,"  said  Lydia  slowly. 

"  Let  the  infant  be  an  after  consideration.  It 
would  be  a  good  trip  for  you  and  Olive  in  any 
case." 

"  Oh,  of  course  if  I  went  I  should  take  Baby," 
answered  Miss  Bagg  decidedly. 

"  Very  well,  then.  Shall  we  consider  it  settled  ? 
If  you  wish  to  go  up  there  in  time  for  graduation, 
as  your  friend  desires,  I  must  see  if  you  can  get 
rooms ;  for  the  hotel  is  always  crowded." 

"  Well,  well.  Not  so  fast.  Not  so  fast,"  ex- 
claimed Miss  Lydia.  "  I  must  consult  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle and  Olive  first." 

"  Oh,  there  will  be  no  trouble  about  that.  Three 
weeks  will  give  Olive  time  enough  to  get  her 
finery." 

"  Finery  ?  What  does  one  want  of  finery  to  en- 
joy scenery  in  ?  We  shall  not  mix  with  whatever 
fashionable  people  there  may  be  at  the  hotel." 

"  No,  but  there  are  other  features  at  the  post  to 
be  taken  into  consideration  besides  the  Highlands 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE.  195 

and  the  river,  —  features  which  will  be  pretty 
sure  to  take  Olive  into  consideration.  The  girl 
must  have  the  right  kind  of  things  to  wear." 

"  Then  I  am  afraid  the  expense  will  stand  in 
the  way,"  replied  Lydia  earnestly.  "You  know 
very  well  the  Carlyles  "  — 

She  paused,  because  Max  was  looking  at  her 
with  such  a  quizzical  smile.  "Doesn't  the  bird 
dare  yet  to  try  its  wings  ? "  he  asked  at  last. 
*'  Strike  out.  Soar  a  little,  Miss  Bagg.  You  will 
find  you  do  not  encounter  any  obstacle." 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  you  are  driving  at 
now  ?  "  asked  Lydia,  somewhat  on  the  defensive. 

"  Why,  it  occurs  to  me  that  if  I  were  a  woman 
I  should  not  ask  for  a  handsomer  doll  to  dress  than 
Olive  Carlyle." 

"What  an  idea!  "  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg,  won- 
dering, yet  pleased  both  with  the  notion  and  her 
secretary's  interest. 

"Yes.  Don't  do  the  thing  by  halves.  Tell 
Mrs.  Carlyle  you  want  her  daughter's  company, 
and  so  you  ask  the  privilege  of  preparing  her  for 
the  trip  as  well  as  taking  her." 

"  Well,  well,  well !  "  Miss  Lydia  thought  a 
moment.  "  You  've  been  there,"  she  said  finally, 
"  you  know  the  place.  What  would  Olive  need  ?  " 

"  Oh  —  a  —  oh  "  —  Max  leaned  back  in  his  chair 
and  laid  down  his  knife  and  fork,  looking  vainly 
about  for  an  inspiration.  "  You  know  those  thin 
things  —  those  mosquito-netting  things  girls  wear 
to  parties  ?  "  he  said  finally,  "  with  —  frills  and 
all  that?" 


196  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Indeed  I  don't,"  declared  Miss  Bagg,  gazing 
back  at  him. 

They  looked  at  one  another  earnestly  and  anx- 
iously. There  was  not  even  a  waitress  present  to 
sympathize  in  their  quandary.  Miss  Bagg  always 
dismissed  the  servant  early  in  the  dinner.  It  made 
her  nervous,  she  said,  to  have  her  standing  about. 

After  a  minute  of  helpless  silence,  the  expres- 
sion of  Van  Kirk's  face  changed.  The  horizontal 
line  returned  to  his  forehead,  and  he  went  on  with 
his  dinner.  "  If  Ida  were  here,  she  would  know 
exactly  what  to  say.  As  it  is,  you  had  better 
leave  it  to  Olive.  Visitors  at  West  Point  sit  or 
ramble  about  out-of-doors  by  day,  and  dance  by 
night." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  exclaimed  Lydia.  "  I  can't 
dance,  and  I  would  n't  if  I  could." 

"  No,  but  Olive  doubtless  can  and  will.  You 
will  have  your  bands  pleasantly  full  to  chaperon 
her." 

"  Especially  with  Baby,  too,"  returned  Lydia, 
looking  rather  dubious  and  apprehensive. 

But  her  apprehensiveness  did  not  last  long. 
Olive's  delight  when  the  plan  was  proposed,  Mrs. 
Carlyle's  calm  and  Mrs.  Spencer's  fervent  gratitude 
gave  Miss  Bagg  a  comforting  sense  of  being  in 
the  way  of  her  duty,  and  she  yielded  herself  fully 
to  the  novel  and  pleasant  experience  of  dressing 
a  beautiful  young  girl. 

It  was  hard  to  tell  which  of  the  two  most  en- 
joyed those  visits  to  the  dressmaker.  Olive's 


MB.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE.  197 

good  sense  did  not  desert  her  in  these  intoxicating 
days.  She  knew  what  was  fashionable  in  dress 
quite  as  well  as  though  she  belonged  to  the  Four 
Hundred,  and  she  knew  beside  what  was  artistic 
and  graceful.  Moreover,  she  was  very  careful  not 
to  impose  upon  Miss  Bagg's  generosity.  The  re- 
sult was  that  Miss  Carlyle  was,  for  the  first  time 
in  her  life,  the  possessor  of  half  a  dozen  new  gowns 
at  once,  all  made  by  a  fashionable  dressmaker, 
who  did  not  often  have  so  perfect  a  lay  figure 
upon  which  to  hang  her  creations. 

Olive  laid  these  costumes  out  upon  the  bed  when 
they  had  all  come  home,  and  worshiped.  More 
than  that,  she  called  upon  her  mother  to  worship, 
and  Mrs.  Carlyle  surveyed  their  crisp  freshness 
through  her  spectacles  and  patted  the  folds  admir- 
ingly, standing  back  and  drooping  her  head  to  one 
side  in  an  attitude  of  thoughtful  appreciation. 

Olive  laughed  merrily.  "  Precious  mother  !  " 
she  exclaimed,  slipping  an  arm  around  her.  "  She 
does  not  care  one  snap  of  her  finger  for  anything 
in  the  matter  —  except  your  kindness,  Cousin  Ly- 
dia,"  for  Miss  Bagg  was  attending  the  exhibition, 
and  looking  on  with  much  innocent  satisfaction. 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  returned  Mrs.  Carlyle,  taking  her 
daughter's  hand  within  her  own  thin  one  and  giv- 
ing it  gentle  little  pats  to  punctuate  her  words. 
"  I  should  have  been  sorry  to  have  your  life  all 
one  color,  dear.  You  are  going  to  have  a  real 
young-lady's  good  time.  That  should  come  once 
in  a  girl's  experience." 


198  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Well,  I  should  be  perfectly  miserable,  if  you 
were  n't  coming  for  the  second  week,"  rejoined 
Olive.  "As  it  is,  I  am  as  happy  as  a  princess. 
What  a  good  fairy  godmother  you  are,  Cousin 
Lydia." 

"  Think  of  my  living  to  be  a  fairy  godmother  to 
anybody,"  said  Miss  Bagg  simply.  "  I  ought  to 
own  it,  —  it  would  n't  be  honest  of  me  to  take  the 
credit,  —  Mr.  Van  Kirk  was  the  one  to  suggest  this 
West  Point  plan  in  the  first  place." 

"  Why,  how  nice  of  him,"  answered  Olive 
brightly.  "  You  can  give  him  as  much  credit  as 
you  like.  There  will  still  be  enough  left  to  gild 
you  all  over.  Look  at  those  dresses,  —  there  are 
eight,  really,  for  the  black  and  the  white  evening 
gowns  have  each  two  bodices,  which  make  four 
dresses  of  them." 

"  Yes,  even  the  dresses,"  declared  Lydia,  rather 
reluctantly,  it  must  be  confessed  ;  she  found  the 
young  girl's  gratitude  very  sweet,  and  would  have 
liked  to  monopolize  it.  "  He  even  suggested  the 
dresses;  I  must  own  it.  I  am  so  slow  and  old- 
fashioned  I  should  ii't  have  realized  what  you 
needed." 

Olive  bit  her  lip  and  looked  at  the  speaker,  her 
deep  blue  eyes  shining  with  a  look  that  was  not 
wholly  pleasure. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  was  rather  out  of  Max's 
province,"  she  said  quickly. 

"  Nothing  is  out  of  his  province  that  he  can  do 
to  help  somebody  else.  That  is  a  wonderful  young 


ME.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE.  199 

man,"  replied  Miss  Bagg,  with  devout  earnestness. 
"  I  won't  say  he  was  any  great  assistance  after  the 
first  general  suggestion,"  she  continued,  in  a  differ- 
ent tone.  "  I  did  n't  have  any  idea  of  what  you 
ought  to  have,  and  all  the  help  I  got  from  him 
was  '  frills  and  mosquito-netting.'  "  Lydia  smiled, 
and  the  cloud  cleared  from  Olive's  brow  as  she 
joined  in  her  mother's  laugh  and  looked  with  re- 
stored satisfaction  at  the  daintily  simple  wardrobe. 
This  included  three  precious  hats,  two  parasols, 
and  a  box  of  gloves,  and  its  concrete  loveliness 
haunted  her  dreams  by  night. 

"  I  must  tell  Mr.  Van  Kirk  just  what  we  have," 
said  Lydia  thoughtfully,  "and  see  if  he  has 
any"  — 

"  No,  indeed !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Carlyle,  with 
astonishing  suddenness.  "Please  don't  tell  him 
one  thing  about  it." 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  her  in  mild  surprise. 
"  Why,  he  might  have  something  else  to  suggest," 
she  said. 

"  We  do  not  want  his  suggestions.  I  have  ev- 
erything heart  could  wish  except  a  pair  of  evening 
shoes,  and  those  I  am  going  to  get  myself." 

"  Olive  Carlyle.  Why  have  n't  you  been  honest 
with  me  ? "  asked  Lydia  seriously.  "  Is  there 
anything  else,  Cousin  Mary,"  —  turning  to  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  —  "  is  there  anything  else  this  child  ought 
to  have  ?  " 

"  Don't  ask  me,"  replied  Mrs.  Carlyle  with  a 
repudiatory  gesture.  "  You  are  both  of  you  way 
beyond  my  depth  already." 


200  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Olive,"  —  Miss  Bagg  looked  up  into  the  tall 
girl's  face  with  the  fiercest  gaze  of  which  she  was 
capable,  —  "  tell  me  straight  off  everything  you 
can  think  of,  or,  as  true  as  I  live,  I  will  give  Mr. 
Van  Kirk  a  full  list  of  what  we  have,  and  make 
him  give  his  whole  mind  to  the  situation.  As  he 
says,  if  Cousin  Ida  were  here,  she  could  answer 
every  question." 

Miss  Carlyle  tossed  her  yellow-brown  waves  of 
hair.  "  I  know  just  as  well  as  Ida  Fuller  what  I 
want,"  she  said  defiantly. 

"  Then  tell  me  at  once,  you  naughty  girl. 
Shoes  ?  "  —  Miss  Bagg  touched  her  thumb,  and 
prepared  to  check  off  the  remaining  requirements. 
"  What  else  ?  " 

"A  fan,"  admitted  Olive,  her  cheeks  pink. 
Lydia  grasped  her  first  finger.  "  What  else  ?  " 

"  Go  on,  Miss  Aladdin,"  laughed  Mrs.  Carlyle. 
*  It  is  not  every  day  you  will  have  the  wonderful 
lamp  in  your  grasp." 

"  Nothing  else,"  answered  Olive. 

"  Nothing  ?  "  persisted  Miss  Bagg.     "  Think." 

The  girl  laughed.  "  I  have  thought.  My  head 
has  been  in  the  most  upset  state  of  frivolity  for 
weeks.  I  am  only  thankful  there  has  n't  been  a 
pane  in  it,  so  mother  could  see  in.  No,  even 
my  cup  will  be  full  when  I  have  some  shoes  and  a 
fan." 

"  Get  your  things  on,"  said  Miss  Bagg  briefly. 
"  The  brougham  is  at  the  door." 

Here   was   still   a   new   experience   for  Lydia, 


ME.  VAN  KIRK'S  PARABLE.  201 

Heretofore  shoes  had  been  shoes  to  her.  Durable 
leather,  sensible  heels,  had  been  all  she  looked  out 
for.  She  was  bewildered  by  the  dainty  articles 
which  the  shopman  produced  for  Olive's  pretty 
foot,  and  it  was  so  amusing  to  see  her  doll  in  one 
and  another  of  the  delicate,  glove-fitting,  embroid- 
ered or  buckled  slippers  and  shoes,  that  Miss  Bagg 
bought  three  pairs  before  she  knew  it,  and  then 
was  delighted  at  her  own  perspicacity  in  discover- 
ing that  this  purchase  necessitated  an  additional 
outfit  of  hosiery ;  and  in  great  spirits  she  drove  off 
with  the  jubilant  young  girl  to  make  the  final  pur- 
chases for  their  laboriously  planned  fortnight's 
outing. 

"  It  is  proverbial  that  people  who  go  to  West 
Point  for  two  weeks  stay  six,"  said  Van  Kirk 
oracularly,  when  Miss  Bagg  told  him  for  how  long 
to  engage  her  rooms. 

"  Two  weeks  will  be  enough,  I  am  sure,"  replied 
Lydia  firmly.  "  Mrs.  Spencer  could  not  ask  more 
of  me." 

"I  have  arranged  matters  in  such  a  way  that 
you  can  stay  as  long  as  you  like,"  her  secretary 
told  her  some  days  afterward.  "  It  is  only  a  part 
of  your  good  luck  that  some  people  who  had  ex- 
pected to  attend  graduation  have  been  obliged  to 
change  their  plans;  otherwise  there  would  not 
have  been  a  foothold  for  you  at  the  hotel." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT. 

THE  second  week  in  June  drew  on  apace.  Olive 
finished  the  crayon  head  of  Van  Kirk,  to  Miss 
Bagg's  great  satisfaction.  The  girl  had  enjoyed 
the  work  more  than  any  previous  experience,  but 
that,  she  thought,  was  easily  explained.  She  had 
accomplished  the  picture  entirely  under  the  in- 
spiring anticipation  of  her  trip.  As  she  penciled 
the  short,  crisp  hair,  or  put  in  the  droop  at  the 
outer  corner  of  Maxwell's  eye,  her  fancy  reveled  in 
the  girlish  finery  which  she  knew  was  developing 
under  the  direction  of  the  fashionable  modiste,  or 
she  saw  in  perspective  the  Highlands  of  the  Hud- 
son, which  once  in  her  father's  lifetime  she  had 
looked  upon  with  childish  non-appreciation. 

"  1  could  not  have  endured  to  work  on  an  ugly 
face  just  now,"  she  thought,  leaning  back  and  re- 
garding the  noble  curves  and  harmonious  lines  in 
her  handiwork.  As  it  was,  the  head  before  her 
seemed  to  embody  the  poetry,  the  charm  of  life,  of 
which  she  was  to  have  her  first,  no,  her  second 
taste.  Up  to  the  present  time  she  still  harbored 
the  belief  that  Cousin  Jotham's  dinner-party  was 
a  very  happy  experience. 

"  And  the  old  gentleman   liked  my  song,"  she 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  203 

reflected.  "  Yes,  he  liked  it  better  than  Ida's,  a 
hundred  times  better  than  Ida's.  Do  you  hear  ?  " 
—  leaning  forward  and  gazing  at  the  averted  eye 
of  the  profile  picture.  Had  the  eye  been  gazing 
at  her,  she  could  not  have  challenged  it  so  boldly. 

Days  passed  by ;  the  crayon  head  had  gone  to 
the  f ramer's  ;  anticipation  was  about  to  be  merged 
in  fruition  ;  the  happy  hour  of  departure  drew  on. 
Olive's  trunk  was  packed  when  one  of  Miss  Bagg's 
servants  came  to  the  house  with  a  note  for  Miss 
Carlyle,  which  stated  that  Miss  Spencer  had  tele- 
graphed the  hour  of  her  arrival.  Would  Olive 
come  to  dine  with  Miss  Bagg  that  evening  and 
meet  the  young  lady  who  was  to  be  their  traveling 
companion  ?  "  Your  brown  dress  will  do,"  added 
Miss  Lydia,  for  well  she  knew  that  the  precious 
festal  garments  were  packed,  ready  for  an  early 
start  the  next  morning. 

"Do!  I  should  think  it  would  do,"  thought 
Olive,  viewing  her  tailor-made  reflection  in  the 
glass.  The  serene  satisfaction  bestowed  by  a 
knowledge  that  one's  gown  is  correct  to  the  small- 
est detail  filled  her  for  the  first  time  in  her  life. 

"  It  is  nonsense  to  preach  against  the  folly  of 
dress,  mother,"  she  said  to  her  silently  contempla- 
tive parent.  "  When  a  girl  knows  that  her  gown 
is  right,  she  can  give  all  her  thought  to  more  im- 
portant things.  It  is  a  great  economy  of  nerve 
force.  Remember  that,  mother  dear,"  —  patting 
Mrs.  Carlyle's  shoulder  with  a  huge  assumption  of 
patronage  which  struggled  with  radiant  smiles. 


204  HflSS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Good-by,  Olive  ;  be  a  good  girl,"  said  her 
mother.  She  had  used  those  words  at  every  part- 
ing with  her  daughter  for  sixteen  years. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  I  am  a  good  girl,  but  I 
am  a  happy  one,  the  happiest  girl  in  New  York," 
replied  Olive,  turning  the  full  light  of  her  eyes 
into  her  mother's,  softly  beaming. 

"  I  shall  know  you  are  good  so  long  as  you  are 
happy,  because  I  know  you,"  returned  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle.  Then  she  watched  from  the  window  to  see 
her  daughter's  trim  figure  move  down  the  street. 

"  It  is  really  the  first  flight  out  of  the  nest,"  she 
mused,  "  and  she  is  a  very  beautiful  bird.  I  am 
glad  Cousin  Lydia  invited  me  for  one  of  those 
weeks.  She  has  never  flown  far  herself.  I  do  not 
know  how  she  will  guard  my  dove." 

As  Miss  Carlyle  walked  toward  her  destination 
she  found  it  not  so  easy  to  turn  her  thoughts  to 
more  important  things  than  her  costume.  She 
luxuriated  in  its  fit.  At  each  of  her  long  steps 
she  knew  that  the  flat  folds  of  her  skirt  opened  to 
just  the  right  depth.  There  was  not  a  threadbare 
nor  a  shabby  spot  upon  her  from  her  faultless  hat 
to  her  neat  boots.  So  far,  she  had  not  bestowed 
much  thought  upon  the  girl  whom  she  was  now  in- 
vited to  meet.  Curiosity  regarding  the  stranger 
grew  as  she  approached  the  Bagg  residence.  Be- 
ing completely  ready  for  her  trip,  she  could  now 
take  up  the  idea  of  this  potential  friend  with  epi' 
curean  pleasure  as  the  next  course  in  her  feast  of 
good  things. 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  205 

• 

Entering  the  house  with  the  privilege  of  an  in- 
mate, she  ran  up  the  stairs  to  Miss  Bagg's  sanc- 
tum and  softly  opened  the  door  a  little  way.  The 
high,  gentle  tones  of  Miss  Bagg's  voice  repeating 

"  Mary  had  a  little  lamb  " 

assured  her  that  the  parrot  was  giving  an  exhibi- 
tion of  his  most  remarkable  performance.  She 
paused  in  order  not  to  disturb  him.  Admiration 
of  the  Judge  was  an  emotion  Olive  quite  shared. 
She  believed  him  to  be  the  brightest  bird  in  the 
world,  and  she  had  been  much  interested  in  Miss 
Bagg's  account  of  her  instructions  to  him  in  this 
respected  rhyme. 

The  voice  went  on  with  complacent  preciseness  : 

"  His  fleece  was  white  as  snow, 
And  everywhere  that  Mary  went 
The  lamb  would  go." 

Perhaps  Miss  Bagg's  nursery  days  were  left  so 
far  behind  that  her  memory  was  defective.  At  all 
events,  the  Judge  gave  the  last  line  in  this  shorn 
style.  In  the  next  verse  Lydia  had  told  Olive 
she  had  been  much  annoyed  by  the  slovenly  and 
indistinct  manner  in  which  the  parrot  for  some 
time  persisted  in  slipping  over  some  syllables  of 
the  third  line  ;  thus :  — 

"It  made  the  children  lup'n  play." 

Miss  Bagg  had  wrestled  faithfully  with  this 
lapse  of  the  Judge's  tongue,  and  had  corrected  it. 
This  is  what  Olive  now  heard,  a  most  reproachful 
accent  on  the  emphasized  words :  — 


206  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  He  followed  her  to  school  one  day, 
Which  was  against  the  rule, 
It  made  the  children  laugh  —  and  —  play  t 
—  At  school." 

Somebody  laughed  in  the  room,  —  a  laugh  in 
which  the  Judge  joined,  drowning  the  human 
voice  in  his  apparently  immoderate  merriment, 
ending  with  a  long-drawn  "  Oh,  dear." 

Olive  knocked  loudly. 

"Come  in,"  exclaimed  the  Judge,  abandoning 
his  lady-like  voice  for  a  ponderous  bass. 

Miss  Bagg  came  to  the  door,  and  greeted  the 
girl  affectionately.  "  The  Judge  was  just  saying 
some  poetry  for  Baby,"  she  said,  drawing  the 
visitor  into  the  room. 

"  Come,  boy,"  remarked  the  parrot,  as  he  saw 
the  new-comer,  "  come,  kiss  me." 

A  young  lady  sitting  by  the  fire  rose.  "  This  is 
Miss  Carlyle,  Miss  Spencer,"  said  Miss  Bagg. 

The  two  girls  looked  at  one  another  with  veiled 
curiosity.  We  know  what  Miss  Spencer  saw. 
Olive's  quickly  withdrawn  gaze  took  in  the  view 
of  a  piquant  face,  whose  whiteness  was  striking, 
framed  as  it  was  in  black  hair  carried  rather 
loosely  back  and  fastened  in  a  coil  by  a  silver 
arrow. 

Miss  Bagg  regarded  the  pair  with  complacency. 

"  What  is  prettier  than  a  young  girl  ?  Two 
young  girls,"  she  said  to  herself,  paraphrasing  an 
ancient  conundrum. 

"I  have   been   so   anxious   to   meet  you,  Miss 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  207 

Carlyle,"  said  Miss  Spencer,  while  she  mentally 
pronounced  enthusiastically  upon  Olive's  beauty. 
"•  I  wanted  some  one  to  help  me  sing  Miss  Bagg's 
praises.  Is  n't  she  good  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  Is  she  ?  She  has  been  so  good 
to  me  that  I  have  n't  had  time  to  think  of  any- 
thing else,"  replied  Olive,  nodding  with  a  smile  to 
Nora,  who  approached  from  the  next  room  to  take 
her  hat  and  jacket,  —  that  jacket  with  the  smart 
lapels ! 

"  Then  we  shall  have  one  emotion  in  common," 
said  Miss  Spencer,  "  from  the  beginning  of  our  ac- 
quaintance. Miss  Bagg,  you  are  '  the  link  that 
binds.' " 

"  I  am  very  happy  to  be  that,  Baby." 

The  young  girl  shook  her  dark  head.  "  Not 
that  name,"  she  said  ;  "  Bertha." 

"  Oh,  I  keep  forgetting,"  replied  Miss  Bagg, 
"  although  you  have  told  me  half  a  dozen  times." 

"  No  '  old  man  of  the  sea '  ever  equaled  a  nick- 
name," continued  the  girl.  "  I  wish  parents  would 
remember  that  and  pause  in  time." 

"  Bertha  is  a  pretty  name.  I  do  not  wonder 
you  wish  to  claim  it,"  remarked  Olive,  as  she  took 
a  chair. 

Miss  Bagg  examined  her  from  head  to  foot  with 
kindly  interest.  The  doll  she  had  dressed  was 
highly  satisfactory. 

"  Well,  Olive,"  she  said,  "  don't  you  notice  any- 
thing ?  "  At  this  vague  suggestion  the  girl  looked 
first  at  Bertha,  questioningly. 


208  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

The  latter  returned  her  gaze  curiously,  as 
though  Miss  Bagg's  question  was  not  surprising. 
Miss  Carlyle's  eyes  roved  about  the  room ;  and 
soon  the  color  came  into  her  cheeks. 

"  Oh,"  she  exclaimed,  rising.  "  What  a  nice 
frame  !  "  for  she  had  found  the  crayon  portrait  of 
Van  Kirk  hanging  in  a  place  of  honor  on  the  wall. 

"  Are  n't  you  proud  of  your  work  ?  "  asked  Ber- 
tha. "Miss  Bagg  has  been  telling  me  you  did 
that." 

"  I  can't  wait  to  hear  what  Mr.  Van  Kirk  will 
say  to  it,"  remarked  Lydia. 

"  Has  n't  he  seen  it  yet  ?  "  exclaimed  Olive.  "  I 
don't  want  to  be  here  when  he  first  sees  it." 

"  Are  you  afraid  he  will  behave  as  badly  as  I 
did  ?  "  asked  Lydia,  laughing.  "  I  cried  when  I 
saw  a  picture  she  did  of  me." 

"  If  the  original  of  that  weeps  it  will  be  for  joy," 
remarked  Bertha.  "  It  looks  like  an  ideal  head. 
I  don't  see  how  you  had  the  conscience  to  cater  so 
to  your  cousin's  vanity,  Miss  Carlyle.  You  see  I 
know  all  about  your  relationship." 

"  Then  you  have  solved  a  very  complex  prob- 
lem," returned  Olive,  while  she  was  thinking  how 
foolish  she  should  feel  to  have  her  handiwork  ex- 
hibited to  Max  in  her  presence,  and  wishing  she 
could  think  of  some  escape  which  would  not  seem 
more  foolish  still. 

"  Does  he  really  look  like  that  ?  "  asked  Bertha. 
"  Excuse  me,  Miss  Carlyle,  but  an  artist  must  be 
tempted  to  flatter  sometimes." 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  209 

"  I  am  not  an  artist.  I  only  copy  photographs, 
and  they  are  generally  truthful,  you  know." 

Bertha  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "  Well,  I  would 
like  to  have  seen  him  when  he  was  a  cadet,"  she 
remarked. 

"  Oh,  I  see ;  Cousin  Lydia  has  been  telling  you 
at  least  a  part  of  his  history.  You  have  a  brother 
at  West  Point,  I  believe." 

Miss  Spencer  looked  at  her  new  acquaintance 
with  astonished  eyes.  Was  it  possible  Olive  did 
not  know  all  about  Ralph  ?  Why  were  they  going 
to  West  Point,  if  it  was  not  to  see  Ralph  ? 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  after  a  moment  of  half- 
offended  hesitation. 

"  Have  you  ever  been  there  ?  "  pursued  Olive. 

"  Several  times,  but  only  for  flying  visits.  The 
first  summer  after  my  brother  entered  I  was 
traveling  in  Europe,  so  I  lost  his  yearling  camp, 
and  it  did  seem  unbearable  to  think  of  losing  this 
too.  That  is  why  I  feel  so  grateful  to  Miss 
Bagg.  Two  weeks  will  be  ever  so  much  better 
than  nothing." 

"  Do  you  sketch  ?  "  asked  Olive. 

It  seemed  to  Miss  Spencer  an  entirely  irrele- 
vant question,  but  she  replied  in  the  negative. 

"  I  am  so  sorry.  I  hoped  you  could.  I  am  go- 
ing to  try.  All  those  places  along  the  Hudson 
must  give  such  lovely  opportunities." 

Bertha  looked  into  the  beautiful  face  curiously. 
u  West  Point  does  give  all  sorts  of  opportunities," 
she  replied,  then,  after  a  pause,  she  added :  "  You 
are  going  there  for  the  scenery?  " 


210  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Of  course,"  replied  Olive ;  "  I  am  not  so 
lucky  as  to  have  a  brother  to  visit.  I  suppose  he 
eclipses  the  Highlands  entirely  in  your  anticipa- 
tion." 

Miss  Spencer  only  smiled  her  slight,  pensive 
smile ;  but  she  felt  that  there  was  a  broad  gulf 
between  herself  and  this  girl  who  felt  so  trifling 
and  impersonal  an  interest  in  the  haven  of  her 
own  eager  desires.  She  looked  upon  Olive  with  a 
sense  of  alienation,  and  postponed  her  opinion  of 
their  possible  congeniality  until  she  should  find 
how  Miss  Carlyle  responded  to  enlightenment  of 
her  present  painful  ignorance.  Just  how  dense 
this  was  she  determined  to  discover. 

"  Did  n't  you  go  to  West  Point  at  all  while  your 
cousin  was  there  ?  "  she  inquired. 

"  No,  not  once." 

"  Not  to  see  him  graduate  ?  " 
Olive   shook  her   head.      "No,  I   never  even 
thought  of  such  a  thing." 

"  Your  own  cousin !  "  exclaimed  Bertha  irre- 
pressibly. 

"  He  is  not  my  own  cousin,"  returned  Olive, 
amused  at  the  other's  evident  disapproval.  "  My 
mother  was  his  mother's  bridesmaid."  She 
laughed,  for  Miss  Spencer  looked  mystified.  "  The 
relationship  is  a  little  nearer  than  that,  however," 
she  added.  "  His  father  was  some  connection  of 
my  father's,  but  had  it  not  been  that  our  mothers 
were  very  fond  of  one  another  as  girls,  we  should 
hardly  have  counted  the  relationship." 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  211 

The  Judge,  who  had  been  standing  on  one  foot, 
the  other  clasping  his  forehead  and  beak  in  a  re- 
flective mood,  here  began  to  march  up  and  down 
his  perch,  grasping  it  hand  over  hand.  He  stopped 
suddenly.  "  Mr.  Van  Kirk !  Oh,  Mr.  Van  Kirk ! " 
he  called. 

"  Yes,  he  is  coming,"  said  Miss  Bagg.  "  How 
quickly  the  Judge  distinguishes  his  step !  "  She 
rose  and  hurried  from  the  room. 

"  I  was  so  afraid  you  would  not  come  home,"  she 
said  to  Max,  standing  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  as 
he  ascended.  "  We  have  guests." 

"Indeed?     Who?" 

"Olive  and  Miss  Spencer.  Coine  into  my  room 
when  you  are  ready." 

"I  will." 

Miss  Bagg  reentered  the  room,  beaming.  "  He 
does  not  always  come  home  to  dinner,  and  I  was  so 
afraid  he  might  not  come  to-night,  not  knowing 
you  would  be  here,"  she  said  to  the  girls. 

Miss  Carlyle  devoutly  wished  that  Miss  Lydia 
might  have  been  disappointed,  but  she  took  up  her 
post  by  the  parrot's  cage  and  gave  her  whole  at- 
tention to  him,  leaving  Miss  Bagg  to  question  her 
guest  about  affairs  at  Ashley. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  Miss  Lydia  opened 
the  door  to  Van  Kirk,  who  entered  and  was  pre- 
sented to  Bertha,  and  greeted  Olive  with  a  cordial 
shake  of  the  hand. 

Miss  Spencer's  white  face  gained  spirit  and 
glow  as  he  seated  himself  near  her. 


212  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  a  West- 
Pointer,"  she  said. 

Van  Kirk  smiled  as  he  returned  her  interested 
gaze.  Evidently  the  visitor  considered  that  this 
fact  constituted  a  bond  of  fellowship  between 
them.  He  felt  impelled  to  come  up  to  her  expec- 
tations, and  cudgeled  his  brains  to  remember  what 
Miss  Bagg  had  told  him  of  her  brother. 

"You  are  going  up  for  the  graduation  exer- 
cises ?  "  he  said  tentatively.  He  could  not  for  the 
life  of  him  remember  to  which  class  her  brother 
belonged. 

"  Yes.  I  am  glad  we  are  going  to  be  there  in 
time.  I  suppose  there  are  always  some  great  men 
to  hear  speak." 

"  You  will  have  a  more  personal  interest  another 
year?" 

"  Yes,  indeed.     Next  year." 

"  Ah.  Your  brother  goes  into  first-class  camp 
this  summer.  A  great  time  for  him,  —  equal  to 
furlough,  a  local  proverb  hath  it.  A  great  time 
for  his  sister,  too.  I  suppose  you  know  that  you 
will  receive  enough  attention  to  turn  your  head." 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Bertha  innocently,  but 
she  blushed.  "  I  have  never  been  there  in  sum- 
mer." 

"I  see  a  proof  that  you  are  not  wholly  a  stranger," 
remarked  Max,  looking  steadily  at  a  little  bunch  of 
three  bell-buttons  which  depended  from  the  slim 
chain  which  held  Miss  Spencer's  watch.  Each 
button  was  engraved  with  a  monogram. 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  213 

She  took  the  bright  little  globes  in  her  hand. 
"  No,  indeed ;  I  feel  that  I  have  lived  the  life  of 
the  academy  by  proxy,  and  I  have  met  many  of 
Ralph's  classmates." 

Miss  Bagg  had  been  listening  to  this  exchange 
of  amenities  rather  restlessly.  She  took  advantage 
of  the  little  pause  that  followed  Bertha's  last  re- 
mark. 

"  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  I  have  something  here  I  want 
to  show  you.  No,  you  need  n't  move.  Just  look 
up  there." 

Max  did  move  when  he  caught  sight  of  the  por- 
trait. He  pushed  his  chair  back  a  little  and 
stared  at  it,  quite  as  completely  surprised  as  Lydia 
could  have  asked. 

"  What  is  that  for?  "  he  asked  rather  curtly. 

"  Me,"  responded  Lydia  more  curtly,  but  with 
evident  triumph. 

The  picture  displeased  Van  Kirk.  He  had 
always  been  vastly  ungrateful  for  that  classical 
profile  which  had  gained  him  the  sobriquet  of 
"  Beauty  "  at  the  academy.  To  have  the  photo- 
graph which  had  been  taken  at  old  Jotham's 
command  thus  brought  into  life-size  evidence  was 
instinctively  distasteful  to  him ;  but  Miss  Bagg's 
beaming  satisfaction  repressed  any  expression  of 
his  sentiments.  Before  he  could  decide  on  a  safe 
comment  she  spoke  again,  while  Miss  Carlyle 
winced. 

"  Olive  did  it,"  added  Miss  Bagg  exultantly. 

"  Olive,"  repeated  Van  Kirk,  moving  his  chair 


214  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

again  so  as  to  confront  the  coloring  face  by  the 
parrot's  cage,  "  I  did  not  know  you  did  that  sort 
of  thing." 

"  That  is  not  wonderful,"  returned  Miss  Carlyle 
nonchalantly.  "  I  do  not  go  about  with  a  list  of 
iny  accomplishments  pinned  to  me." 

"  I  never  saw  better  crayon  work,"  said  Max, 
thankful  that  he  had  not  injured  two  sets  of  feel- 
ings by  an  involuntary  revelation  of  his  own. 

"  How  very  good  of  you,"  returned  Olive,  with- 
out looking  at  him. 

"  You  have  paid  me  a  great  compliment,  Miss 
Bagg,"  declared  Max,  gathering  himself  together. 

"  I  think  the  world  and  all  of  it,"  returned  Ly- 
dia  simply,  gazing  at  the  picture  with  much  satis- 
faction. 

Miss  Spencer  waited  to  see  if  the  subject  of  the 
portrait  was  disposed  of,  and  then  returned  to  the 
matters  near  her  own  heart.  It  was  so  agreeable 
to  find  some  one  who  was  familiar  with  the  spot 
where  she  so  often  dwelt  in  spirit. 

"  I  am  particularly  glad  that  we  shall  get  to 
West  Point  in  time  for  the  graduation  hop,"  she 
said.  "  My  brother  was  so  afraid  I  should  miss 
it." 

"  Yes,  that  is  always  a  very  gay  crush.  You 
will  be  sure  to  enjoy  it,"  replied  Van  Kirk ;  "  but 
poor  Miss  Carlyle  !  "  —  looking  at  that  preoccupied 
young  lady.  "  You  ought  to  have  gone  a  little  ear- 
lier so  that  she  would  have  a  partner,  too.  Olive, 
I  wonder  if  it  would  do  any  good  for  me  to  sing  — • 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  215 

'  Backward,  turn  backward,  O  Time,  in  your  flight ;  ' 
Make  me  a  cadet  again  just  for  that  night  — 

so  I  could  take  you  ?  " 

"  I  have  arranged  that,"  announced  Bertha  sol- 
emnly. She  looked  at  Olive  as  though  hopeless 
that  she  would  appreciate  the  magnitude  of  her 
good  fortune,  and  resentful  beforehand  of  such 
ingratitude.  "  My  brother  Ralph  is  making  up 
Miss  Carlyle's  card,"  she  added,  still  more  im- 
pressively. 

Olive  looked,  as  she  felt,  astonished  and  mys- 
tified. 

"  Say  '  Thank  you '  to  the  lady,  Olive,"  said  Max1. 
"  You  little  know  what  politeness  that  shows  in  Mr. 
Spencer.  He  is  giving  up  escorting  any  of  the 
charming  girls  he  has  a  soft  spot  for,  and  engages 
to  take  you  to  the  hop,  '  sight  unseen,'  and  secures 
all  your  partners  for  you  for  the  evening." 

Miss  Carlyle  looked  from  the  smiling  face  to 
Miss  Spencer's,  preternaturally  grave. 

"  I  wish  he  would  n't,"  she  said  simply,  rather 
bewildered. 

Max  laughed  outright.  "  Forgive  her,  Miss 
Spencer.  After  the  hop  she  will  fall  on  your  neck 
and  thank  you.  She  does  n't  know  the  customs  of 
our  alma  mater.  How  should  you  like  to  see  a 
dance  in  progress,  Olive,  and  yourself  sit  against 
the  wall?" 

"  I  should  n't  like  it,"  admitted  Miss  Carlyle. 

"  Well,  that  horrible  fate  is  what  Miss  Spencer's 
foresight  has  saved  you  from ;  and  "  —  turning  to 


216  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Bertha  and  lowering  his  voice  —  "I  think  your 
brother  will  find  that  virtue  is  its  own  reward, 
don't  you?" 

Bertha  nodded,  and  softened  sufficiently  to  give 
her  delicate  smile. 

"  I  thank  you  very  much,  I  am  sure,  Miss  Spen- 
cer," said  Olive  tardily. 

She  made  her  excuses  rather  early  that  evening. 
She  had  a  few  things  left  to  do,  she  said,  regarding 
her  packing. 

Max  drove  home  with  her.  He  found  her  dis- 
inclined to  talk  on  the  way,  but  his  own  thoughts 
were  so  ready  to  stray  that  when  he  handed  his 
companion  from  the  carriage  before  her  house  he 
was  entirely  surprised  to  have  her  pause  on  the 
sidewalk  and  face  him. 

"  I  want  you  to  realize,  Max,"  she  said,  low  and 
hastily,  "  that  I  could  not  know  that  you  disliked 
life-size  portraits  when  I  took  Miss  Bagg's  order 
for  yours." 

"I  —  I  do  not  dislike  them,"  returned  Van 
Kirk,  even  more  amazed  at  her  manner  than  at 
her  words. 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  she  pursued,  unheeding  him. 
"  Nothing  would  have  induced  me  to  make  the  pic- 
ture, had  I  known.  As  it  was  —  it  is  my  business. 
No  matter  about  saying  anything  polite,"  she  added 
hurriedly,  as  he  started  to  speak.  "  Many  peo- 
ple feel  as  you  do.  Good-night.  Thank  you  for 
bringing  me  home." 

She  ran  up  the  steps  and  into  the  house  with 


MR.  VAN  KIRK'S  PORTRAIT.  217 

such  swiftness  that  Van  Kirk  stood  and  looked 
into  space,  bewildered,  for  half  a  minute. 

This  was  a  new  Olive,  —  as  new  as  her  tailor- 
made  clothes.  His  straying  thoughts,  half  leaning 
toward  business  and  half  given  to  the  vague  ache 
that  had  become  chronic  somewhere  in  the  organ- 
ism of  his  mind,  were  reined  up  and  concentrated 
with  a  sharp  turn.  He  gave  a  long,  low  whistle 
before  he  re  entered  the  brougham. 

As  for  Miss  Carlyle,  she  went  into  the  house  a 
little  consoled  by  what  she  had  said ;  somewhat 
vindicated  from  self-accusations  of  the  pleasure 
with  which  she  had  made  Maxwell's  picture. 
With  her  whole  soul  she  now  resented  the  plea- 
sure. It  had  seemed  to  her  that  Max  must  suspect 
that  she  had  done  the  work  con  amore. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

WEST   POINT. 

THE  following  morning  Mrs.  Carlyle  accompa- 
nied her  daughter  to  the  boat,  and  bade  the  travel- 
ers good-speed.  Her  appearance  was  more  con- 
ventional than  usual  in  new  garments  which  Miss 
Bagg  and  Olive  had  declared  it  imperative  for  her 
to  have.  She  had  yielded  meekly  to  their  wishes, 
and  Olive  felt  very  proud  of  her  mother  as  she 
introduced  Bertha  and  saw  the  latter  come  under 
the  spell  of  Mrs.  Carlyle's  sweet  eyes  and  voice. 

"  You  are  not  going,  Max  ?  "  asked  the  latter, 
in  surprise,  as  the  young  man  spoke,  reminding 
the  party  that  the  time  for  adieus  was  up. 

"  Yes,  I  am  going  to  see  them  safely  settled," 
replied  Van  Kirk,  "  but  I  shall  probably  be  back 
to-night." 

"Only  one  little  week,  mother,"  whispered 
Olive  fondly,  as  she  kissed  her. 

The  boat  drew  away  from  the  dock,  in  the  sweet 
June  morning,  and  the  much  anticipated  trip  had 
begun.  The  wind  was  fresh,  but  even  Miss  Bagg 
refused  to  go  inside.  She  tied  a  veil  over  her  hat, 
wrapped  a  shawl  about  her  shoulders,  and,  Van 
Kirk  having  found  a  comfortable  spot  for  her,  she 


WEST  POINT.  219 

drew  her  chair  near  the  rail  and  gave  her  attention 
to  the  varied  panorama  which  began  to  unfold. 
The  young  man's  companions  soon  found  that  he 
was  a  complete  guide  to  its  beauties  and  could 
answer  all  their  questions. 

He  had  thought  Olive's  manner  a  little  conscious 
when  they  first  met  this  morning,  but  in  her  pres- 
ent pleasure  all  constraint  vanished.  The  cares 
and  disappointments  of  life  seemed  to  Max  to  slip 
away  as  the  boat  ploughed  through  the  water. 
The  cheerfulness  of  his  companions  and  especially 
Olive's  silent  gladness  stimulated  him,  and  lifted 
him  out  of  the  rut  where  he  had  been  plodding. 

The  very  gight  of  the  girl  was  inspiring.  Her 
softly  brilliant  eyes,  with  their  shadowy  lashes,  the 
satisfying  curves  and  coloring  of  her  face,  which 
grew  only  nearer  to  perfection  in  the  unsparing 
daylight,  formed  a  feast  for  the  eye  to  enjoy. 
Bertha  Spencer  could  not  forbear  an  honest  sigh 
of  envy  at  the  way  Olive's  hair  turned  to  gold  in 
the  sunshine,  every  loose  lock  dancing  into  a  little 
ring  when  the  wind  seized  it. 

The  half  patronizing,  half  indifferent  sentiments 
which  Max  had  experienced  all  his  life  toward 
little  Olive  Carlyle  had  sensibly  changed  for  the 
first  time  during  that  minute  last  evening  when 
she  had  paused  on  the  dark  sidewalk  and  uttered 
her  words  of  self-justification.  They  revealed  that 
he  had  hurt  her,  and  he,  in  trying  to  recall  on  his 
way  home  the  precise  amoiint  of  ungraciousness 
that  he  had  shown  concerning  the  portrait,  be- 


220  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

stowed  more  continuous  thought  upon  the  girl  than 
he  had  ever  given  her,  wondering  with  the  curi- 
osity of  a  discoverer  to  find  her  an  individual  of 
heart  and  spirit  whom  he  could  never  again  ignore 
nor  flatter;  and  he  regarded  his  mental  picture 
with  a  mixture  of  surprise,  amusement,  and  pique 
such  as  he  might  entertain  toward  a  person  who 
had  stolen  a  march  upon  him. 

As  he  regarded  Olive  now,  he  found  a  distinct 
satisfaction  in  the  fact  that  she  unconsciously  owed 
it  to  him  that  she  was  standing  here  by  the  boat's 
rail  with  that  eager  delight  in  her  eyes.  He  could 
not  address  her  in  the  off -hand  manner  which 
twenty-four  hours  ago  would  have  been  the  only 
natural  one,  and  as  Miss  Spencer  put  to  him  many 
questions  and  comments  he  gave  his  attention 
chiefly  to  her  as  the  boat  sped  on. 

Those  who  have  taken  that  trip  up  the  Hudson 
know  what  our  party  enjoyed  of  beauty  and  va- 
riety of  scenery  between  the  Palisades  and  the 
Highlands,  and  those  who  have  not  beheld  those 
enchanting  vistas  could  not  be  made  to  see  them 
by  any  pen-picture  which  might  be  introduced 
here. 

At  last  the  bell  of  the  steamer  uttered  its  signal 
to  land  at  the  broad  dock,  which  to  Bertha  con- 
stituted the  most  welcome  bit  of  view  they  had 
seen  since  they  left  New  York.  Her  white  cheeks 
took  a  pink  tinge  that  was  not  all  due  to  the  river 
breeze,  and  her  heart  beat  with  joyful  excitement. 

"  At  last ! "  she  exclaimed  under  her  breath. 


WEST  POINT.  221 

aud  Olive  smiled  for  sympathy  with  the  radiance 
iu  her  dark  eyes.  Van  Kirk  was  smiling,  too,  at 
reminiscences  of  his  own.  The  last  time  he  had 
left  a  boat  at  the  West  Point  dock  it  had  been 
when  returning  to  "  jail  "  from  furlough.  How 
infinitely,  hopelessly  long  the  two  remaining  years 
had  looked  to  him  then  in  prospective.  How 
short  they  and  the  four  succeeding  them  seemed 
now  as  he  looked  back.  He  had  thought  that  day, 
when  restively  resenting  the  return  to  rigid  law 
and  system,  that  all  joy  lay  in  the  one  word  — 
freedom.  He  philosophized  a  little,  moving  along 
now  with  the  stream  of  passengers,  on  the  elusive 
character  of  this  same  freedom.  Mankind  were 
all  slaves,  he  thought,  if  not  to  "  taps  "  and  "  re- 
veille," then  to  something  else. 

He  was  recalled  from  his  reflections  by  the  in- 
evitable "  Step  along  lively  "  with  which  the  Hud- 
son River  official  speeds  his  guest,  howsoever 
lively  said  guest  may  be  in  crossing  the  gang- 
plank. 

Van  Kirk  had  ordered  a  carriage  to  meet  his 
party,  and  when  they  were  ensconced  the  horses 
moved  slowly  up  the  hill. 

"  What  a  lovely  place ! "  exclaimed  city-bred 
Olive,  her  eyes  resting  upon  the  jagged,  rocky 
height,  with  its  masses  of  trees  and  foliage,  which 
bounded  their  road  on  the  left. 

"  Of  course,"  replied  Miss  Spencer,  her  whole 
expression  betokening  that  she  had  reached  para- 
dise, and  that  no  development  of  its  charms  could 


222  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

in  any  way  surprise  her.  "  Oh,  Miss  Bagg,  is  n't 
it  hard  that  I  don't  know  when  I  shall  see  Ralph  ? 
He  said  he  could  n't  promise  anything,  but  that  I 
was  to  expect  him  when  I  saw  him." 

"  I  wonder  why  that  is,"  replied  Lydia.  "  I 
supposed  he  would  meet  us  at  the  boat." 

"  You  must  be  prepared  to  wonder  at  a  great 
many  things  for  the  next  week,  Miss  Bagg,"  re- 
marked Max.  "  You  are  at  a  military  post  now, 
—  a  little  world  by  itself,  —  and  you  will  find 
things  different  in  many  ways  from  anything  you 
are  accustomed  to." 

"  Yes.  I  saw  two  or  three  soldiers  down  there 
at  the  boat  when  we  came  in,"  replied  Lydia. 

"  Officers,  Miss  Bagg,  officers,"  returned  Van 
Kirk,  smiling  ;  "  which  reminds  me  of  the  captain 
who  was  in  court  for  some  reason,  and,  the  lawyer 
for  the  defense  referring  to  him  as  '  this  soldier,' 
the  captain  hotly  bade  him  to  remember  that  he 
was  an  officer,  after  which  the  lawyer  referred  to 
him  carefully  as  '  this  officer  who  is  no  soldier.' 
There  are  a  couple  of  soldiers  now,"  —  as  two  men 
in  brown  overalls  passed  the  carriage. 

"  Where  are  their  uniforms  ?  " 

"  They  do  not  require  them  for  this  work,  which 
is  keeping  the  roads  in  order.  No  one  is  employed 
here  except  enlisted  men.  You  will  see  plenty  of 
soldiers  in  uniform,  however.  There  " — as  the  car- 
riage turned  and  they  passed  a  long,  low  building 
half  covered  with  clinging  vines  "  —  there  is  the 
riding-hall,  where  cavalry  drill  is  held  in  winter." 


WEST    POINT.  223 

"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Bertha,  leaning  forward,  "  and 
how  glorious  it  is  to  see  them  ride  in  there ! " 

"  The  soldiers  ?  "  asked  Olive. 

Miss  Spencer  looked  at  her  half  impatiently. 

"  I  have  pictures  of  all  these  places,  Olive,"  said 
Van  Kirk.  "  I  ought  to  have  shown  them  to  you 
and  explained  matters,  so  that  you  would  be  as 
much  at  home  here  as  Miss  Spencer.  The  cadets 
have  their  riding-drill  in  this  hall.  I  am  sorry 
you  will  not  see  any  of  it.  The  summer  is  not  the 
season  for  that.  They  become  very  expert  horse- 
men, and  attract  enthusiastic  audiences  to  see  their 
skillful  exploits.  Some  of  them  enjoy  it  immensely, 
and  some,  down  to  the  last  day  of  the  course,  never 
conquer  the  distaste  which  grew  out  of  the  nu- 
merous mishaps  they  endured  during  their  first 
lessons." 

"  I  suppose  you  liked  it,  since  you  joined  a  cav- 
alry regiment,"  remarked  Olive. 

"  Yes ;  riding  was  the  greatest  pleasure  I  had 
here." 

"  Let  me  understand,"  said  Miss  Bagg  impress- 
ively, "  just  what  is  a  cadet  ?  " 

"A  student  in  the  military  academy  of  the 
United  States,"  replied  Max.  "Being  lucky 
enough  to  pass  his  examination,  he  bids  farewell 
to  home  and  mother,  and  takes  an  oath  of  loyalty 
and  service  to  the  government,  which  government 
then  proceeds  to  get  him  into  shape  to  be  a  pre- 
sentable and  competent  servant.  This  process  is 
a  severe  one,  and  many  cannot  stand  the  strain. 


224  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Tests  are  constantly  to  be  endured  along  the  course 
which  eliminate  all  but  the  strongest  specimens 
physically  and  mentally  ;  therefore  each  first  class 
of  the  academy  may  be  regarded  and  respected  as 
a  survival  of  the  fittest.  We  are  now  about  to  re- 
gard and  respect  Miss  Spencer's  brother  in  that 
light." 

"To  say  nothing  of  Mr.  Van  Kirk,"  added 
Olive  mischievously. 

"  Oh,  let  bygones  be  bygones,"  he  replied  good- 
naturedly. 

"  Why,  what  do  they  want  to  make  it  so  hard 
for  ?  "  asked  Miss  Bagg. 

"  It  is  right  they  should.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  each  cadet  the  United  States  graduates  costs 
the  government  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Naturally  this  outlay  must  be  employed  to  fit  the 
strongest  men.  There  is  the  library,  Miss  Bagg. 
We  are  proud  of  the  library." 

Even  as  Van  Kirk  used  the  pronoun,  he  felt  a 
twinge  of  regret.  He  had,  of  course,  thought 
twice  before  deciding  to  come  here,  where  it  was 
certain  that  he  would  meet  acquaintances  who 
knew  of  his  mortification  ;  but  the  very  suggestion 
of  shrinking  decided  him  to  come.  He  would  not 
submit  to  allow  such  thoughts  to  hamper  his  move- 
ments. 

Miss  Spencer  gazed  eagerly  at  the  academic 
building  and  the  barracks  before  tne  carriage 
turned  into  the  road  dividing  the  two  plains,  and 
approached  the  hotel. 


)VEST  POIXT.  225 

The  stretch  of  green  grass  on  the  left,  the  majes- 
tic old  trees  with  their  rich  fans  of  foliage,  the  glo- 
rious hills,  and  the  sparkle  of  the  river  caused 
a  throbbing  of  excited  delight  in  Olive's  throat 
which  forced  a  moisture  into  her  eyes.  The  air 
was  the  very  breath  of  June  ;  the  sky  azure,  with 
downy  puffs  of  cloud  floating  beneath  the  blue. 
The  impression  of  the  moment  was  one  she  never 
forgot. 

Her  involuntary  glance  met  Van  Kirk's,  who  ex- 
ulted again  at  having  been  the  means  of  bringing 
such  a  look  into  her  face.  Of  such  scenes  Olive 
had  known  as  little  as  the  blade  of  grass  which 
stretches  to- the  light  between  two  cobblestones  in 
a  New  York  pavement. 

Miss  Bagg  looked  up  at  the  hills,  and  took  a 
deep  breath  in  enjoyment  of  the  welcome,  spacious 
quiet  after  the  confined  din  of  the  city.  "  This  is 
a  beautiful  place,  I  must  say,"  she  remarked,  in 
tones  of  hearty  satisfaction. 

The  carriage  stopped  at  the  hotel,  and  Van  Kirk 
assisted  the  ladies  to  alight.  There  were  a  few 
people  on  the  piazza,  among  them  an  officer,  who 
started  at  sight  of  Max  and  stepped  forward,  only 
restraining  himself  as  he  saw  the  two  ladies. 

Van  Kirk  met  him  with  outstretched  hand. 
"  Gary,  I  remembered  that  you  were  here." 

"Van  Kirk,  old  man,  delighted  to  see  you  !  "  ex- 
claimed the  other,  returning  the  cordial  grip. 

"  I  '11  be  back  in  a  minute  ;  "  and  Max  ushered 
his  companions  into  the  house,  where  they  were 


226  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

shown  to  their  rooms.  These  commanded  what 
Bertha  pronounced  "  such  heavenly  views  "  that  the 
three  could  hardly  tear  themselves  from  the  win- 
dows. At  last  Bertha  and  Olive  could  come  into 
full  agreement,  and  Miss  Carlyle  was  so  entirely 
happy  that  Bertha  forgave  her  for  the  dual  crime 
of  not  having  anticipated  seeing  Ralph  nor  studied 
his  surroundings. 

A  good  dinner  added  to  the  well-being  of  the 
party,  and  afterward  the  feminine  portion  of  it  de- 
voted themselves  to  unpacking.  This  operation 
was,  at  least  in  Bertha's  case,  interrupted  by  such 
frequent  excursions  to  the  windows  that  it  be- 
came a  matter  of  length. 

"  Oh,  I  think  this  academy  is  the  cruelest  in- 
stitution !  "  she  exclaimed  at  last.  "  I  can't  help 
keeping  my  ears  and  eyes  strained  for  news  of 
Ralph,  and  I  think  "  —  A  knock  at  the  door  in- 
terrupted her,  and  Van  Kirk's  card  was  handed  in. 
Olive  took  it  and  read  the  penciling  on  the  back. 

"  He  says  if  we  come  down  in  ten  minutes  we 
can  see  the  light  battery  drill.  I  'd  like  to  know 
what  that  is." 

"  Oh,  hurry !  "  exclaimed  Bertha  joyfully.  "  I 
wonder  if  Ralph  is  in  it.  Pin  up  your  hair,  Miss 
Carlyle.  These  dresses  will  do.  Do  you  like  can- 
non, Miss  Bagg  ?  " 

"  Cannon !     Mercy,  no,  Baby." 

"  Yes,  you  do,"  said  Bertha  coaxingly.  "  At 
any  rate,  you  like  the  circus,  don't  you  ?  " 

Miss  Bagg  was  considerably  bewildered  by  this 


WEST  POINT.  227 

mixture  of  ideas,  but  she  yielded  to  the  excited 
girl's  admonitions  to  hurry,  and  when  the  ten  min- 
utes were  over  the  three  joined  Van  Kirk  in  the 
parlor.  With  him  was  the  lieutenant  who  had 
spoken  to  him  when  they  arrived.  He  introduced 
him  as  a  friend  who  belonged  to  his  old  regiment, 
and  who  was  now  detailed  at  this  post  as  an  in- 
structor. 

Miss  Bagg  regarded  the  officer's  shoulder-straps 
with  much  respect. 

"  What  do  you  instruct  in,  Lieutenant  Gary  ?  " 
asked  Bertha,  buttoning  her  gloves. 

"T-ictics,"  he  replied. 

She  gazed  at  him.  Here  she  was  actually  speak- 
ing with  one  of  those  awful  beings  known  as  tac- 
tical officers ;  one  of  those  creatures  who  rejoice  in 
making  life  a  burden  to  the  innocent  cadet.  He 
was  shameless  enough  to  avow  his  calling,  and  yet 
his  face  was  not  that  of  a  villain. 

Miss  Bagg  was  speaking  again.  "  Mr.  Gary, 
does  light  battery  really  mean  light  ?  Bab  —  Miss 
Spencer  said  something  about  cannon." 

"  They  do  make  a  good  deal  of  noise,"  replied 
the  lieutenant,  "  but  the  exhibition  drills  are  always 
interesting.  How  would  it  be  to  go  over  on  the 
library  steps,  Van  Kirk  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure  I  want  to  see  it,"  said  Miss 
Bagg,  hesitating. 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  do,"  replied  Max.  "  We  will 
take  it  at  a  little  distance.  You  would  not  miss  it 
for  anything." 


228  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

They  set  forth  from  the  hotel,  Max  and  Miss 
Bagg  ahead,  while  Gary  followed  with  the  young 
ladies. 

"  What  kind  of  an  officer  is  he  ?  "  asked  Lydia. 
"What  rank?" 

"  A  lieutenant." 

"  I  did  n't  know  what  to  call  him." 

"You  did  right.  'Mister 'is  accounted  quite 
good  enough  for  a  lieutenant." 

"  You  must  give  me  some  lessons  in  shoulder- 
straps,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  "  so  I  shall  know  who  is 
who.  What  were  you  ?" 

"  J  was  a  second  lieutenant.  My  shoulder-strap 
was  precisely  like  that  of  a  general  —  only  lacking 
the  star." 

Van  Kirk's  little  joke  was  quite  lost  upon  Miss 
Bagg,  who  was  intent  upon  information. 

"And  Mr.  Gary's  is  the  same,  I  suppose,"  she 
said. 

"  No,  he  is  a  first  lieutenant.  You  will  see  that 
he  boasts  a  bar  in  his  field." 

A  s  they  reached  the  chapel  and  turned  east,  Miss 
Lydia  observed  a  uniformed  young  fellow  carrying 
a  bayonet  and  walking  slowly  along  the  sidewalk. 

"  Is  that  a  cadet  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No,  that  is  a  soldier  —  a  sentinel." 

"What  is  the  matter  with  him?"  asked  Miss 
Bagg,  for,  as  they  approached,  the  sentinel  brought 
his  heels  together,  swung  his  body  about,  backed 
about  three  steps,  looked  rigidly  before  him,  chan- 
ging the  position  of  his  rifle  in  a  couple  of  jerky 


WEST  POINT.  229 

motions,    while     Lyclia    gazed,     much     mystified. 
"  What  ails  him?  "  she  whispered. 

"  Gary,"  returned  her  escort  briefly.  "  He  was 
saluting  an  officer,"  explained  Max  as  soon  as  they 
had  passed. 

"  Oh !  "  Miss  Bagg  turned  around  for  an  invol- 
untary, wondering  glance  at  the  lieutenant. 

"  This  will  be  a  very  good  place,"  said  Gary  as  the 
party  seated  themselves  on  the  library  steps.  "  You 
will  get  a  bird's-eye  view,  and  distance  will  lend 
enchantment  for  Miss  Bagg." 

"  I  think  it  would  be  ever  so  much  nicer  over 
there  in  the  crowd,"  sighed  Bertha,  "  where  we 
could  see  their  faces." 

."No,  indeed,"  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg  nervously; 
"you  might  get  shot.  Stay  right  here  with  me. 
Oh,  look  at  that !  " 

For  now  the  cavalry  plain  began  to  fill. 

"Look  at  those  men  all  in  snow-white,"  ex- 
claimed Lydia,  as  horses  in  teams  of  four,  each 
span  driven  by  a  mounted  soldier,  drew  the  cais- 
sons and  cannon  about  the  field.  The  caissons 
were  manned  by  white-clothed  cadets,  who  sat  mo- 
tionless with  folded  arms.  Gadet  officers  mounted 
on  prancing  steeds  gave  orders.  Miss  Bagg  was 
reminded  of  an  ancient  engraving  of  a  Roman 
chariot  race  she  had  seen  at  Ashley,  as  the  horses 
galloped  around  the  plain  in  a  circle,  the  dust 
rising  from  the  wheels.  At  last  a  halt  was  called. 
Instantly  the  statuesque  figures  became  nimble. 
Descending  from  their  perches  with  precisely  unan- 


230  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

imous  movements,  they  fired  the  cannon,  the  re- 
verberations echoing  among  the  hills.  Then  as 
swiftly  reascending,  they  assumed  a  motionless 
posture  with  folded  arms ;  off  galloped  the  horses 
to  a  new  position ;  then  came  the  signal  to  halt, 
and  the  explosions  again  awoke  the  echoes.  This 
was  repeated  with  many  varying  manffiuvres. 

Around  and  around  rumbled  the  heavy  wagons. 
The  dust  flew  in  clouds,  the  guns  boomed,  some- 
times singly,  sometimes  with  simultaneous  roars 
from  six  deep  mouths.  The  smoke  rolled  up 
and  away  against  the  mountains,  fading  in  feathery 
mist.  The  thud  of  the  horses'  feet,  the  grinding 
of  heavy  wheels,  the  notes  of  the  bugle,  the  sharp 
explosions,  the  alertness  of  the  white-clothed  fig- 
ures, made  a  thrilling  series  of  sounds  and  sights 
against  the  marvelous  background. 

After  the  first  fire  Miss  Bagg  forgot  to  cry  out, 
and  as  for  Bertha  and  Olive,  they  were  absorbed 
in  interest. 

When  it  was  over  Max  looked  at  Miss  Bagg. 
"  Well,  would  you  have  missed  it  ?  " 

"  Not  for  anything,"  she  replied,  drawing  a  deep 
breath.  "  I  feel  as  if  I  had  been  in  a  battle." 

"  Where  West  Point  gets  ahead  of  other  shows 
is  that  Nature  stages  things  as  nobody  else  can," 
remarked  Van  Kirk.  "  Now,  I  suppose,  Cary,  if 
we  want  to  see  parade  it  behooves  us  to  hurry  in 
order  to  get  seats." 

"  It  does,  indeed.  See,  some  have  gone  over 
already." 


WEST  POINT.  231 

They  arose  and  moved  away.  The  sentinel  again 
showed  spasmodic  symptoms  at  their  approach, 
jerked  through  his  evolutions,  and  passed  into  a  re- 
spectful trance,  and  Miss  Bagg  began  to  be  so  in- 
fected with  the  martial  spirit  that  she  walked  very 
straight  as  she  passed  him,  and  felt  a  share  in  the 
attention.  Gary  was  just  ahead  of  her  this  time, 
and  she  saw  him  return  the  salute. 

"  If  you  had  n't  left  the  army  the  sentries  would 
have  to  do  that  to  you,  would  n't  they  ?  "  she  said 
wistfully  to  her  secretary. 

"  Yes.  I  shall  have  to  put  a  guard  on  my  right 
hand,  or  I  shall  be  responding  to  some  of  these 
fellows,  cit  as  I  am.  I  have  n't  been  out  of  the 
habit  long  enough.  It  gets  to  be  entirely  uncon- 
scious. A  friend  of  mine,  who  has  been  in  the 
army  about  ten  years,  told  me  he  went  to  the  circus 
one  day,  and  when  the  clown  came  into  the  ring 
and  saluted,  he  responded." 

They  were  walking  quickly  along  the  path 
which  edges  the  infantry  plain,  and  IVJax  looked 
with  curious  sensations  across  at  the  window  of  his 
old  room  in  the  barracks. 

Miss  Bagg's  attention  was  suddenly  attracted 
by  a  novel  figure.  It  was  that  of  a  young  man 
whose  uniform  of  matchless  gray  and  pure  white 
revealed  the  symmetry  of  his  strong,  compact 
form.  He  carried  his  head  erect,  his  shoulders 
back,  and  walked  with  an  elastic,  measured  tread. 
The  golden  buttons  on  his  wrinkleless  coat  glit- 
tered richly.  As  he  advanced,  he  fixed  his  eyes 
on  Lieutenant  Cary  with  a  keen  gaze. 


232  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  What  kind  of  a  soldier  is  that  ?  "  asked  Lydia, 
as,  Gary  looking  up,  the  young  man  raised  his  hand 
to  his  cap  in  a  dignified  salute. 

"That,  Miss  Bagg,  is  an  embryo  officer.  At 
last  you  have  an  object  lesson  in  what  a  cadet  is  ; 
and  you  will  not  forget  —  Hello !  "  and  Van  Kirk 
looked  with  interest  as  the  cadet  stopped,  lifted 
his  cap,  and  seized  the  hand  that  Bertha  Spencer 
offered  him. 

"Mr.  Hemenway." 

"  Miss  Spencer." 

Each  was  evidently  delighted  to  see  the  other. 

"Where  is  Ralph?"  exclaimed  Bertha.  "I 
have  been  here  hours.  Miss  Carlyle,  let  me  in- 
troduce Mr.  Hemenway.  Mr.  Hemenway,  Miss 
Bagg ;  Mr.  Van  Kirk.  Where  is  Ralph  ?  I  will 
never  forgive  that  wretched  boy !  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  will,"  returned  the  young  man, 
after  acknowledging  these  hasty  introductions. 
"  He  received  your  telegram  too  late  to  get  a  per- 
mit to  go  to  the  hotel,  and  he  is  over  there  looking 
for  you  among  the  crowd  at  the  present  moment. 
The  seats  are  filling,  and  I  will  not  detain  you.  I 
will  find  Ralph  and  bring  him  over." 

Our  party  moved  on.  Bertha  walked  on  air. 
"  I  have  n't  seen  my  brother  for  a  year,"  she  said 
to  Gary.  "Do  you  blame  me  for  being  impa- 
tient ?  " 

"No,  indeed,  and  West  Point  is  a  rare  place 
for  trying  the  patience  of  mothers  and  sisters." 

"  I  should  think  so.  We  have  n't  any  rights  at 
all,"  replied  Miss  Spencer  aggrievedly. 


WEST  POINT.  233 

They  walked  on  beneath  the  fine  old  trees,  and 
succeeded  in  getting  good  seats  fronting  the  pa- 
rade ground.  Bertha  kept  her  eyes  strained  for  a 
glimpse  of  Ralph,  and  at  last  she  was  rewarded  by 
the  sight  of  two  tall  gray  and  white  figures,  step- 
ping like  one  man,  in  one  of  whom  she  recognized 
har  brother.  She  started  to  her  feet.  A  minute 
more  and  her  hand  was  in  his,  her  eyes,  a  little 
moist,  met  his  own.  Perhaps  he  felt  as  glad,  even 
as  affectionately  sentimental  as  she  ;  but  he  only 
squeezed  her  hand  after  kissing  her,  and  said  in  a 
low  tone :  — 

"  This  is  immense,  Babe,  is  n't  it  ?  So  glad  you 
could  come." 

"  That  is  n't  Ralph  Spencer  !  "  exclaimed  Miss 
Bagg. 

"  Don't  tell  me  you  've  forgotten  me,"  said  the 
cadet,  coming  forward  to  shake  Lydia's  offered 
hand. 

"  Why,  I  should  n't  have  known  you.  I  should 
not,  indeed,"  declared  Miss  Bagg,  regarding  his 
erect  and  elegant  figure.  "Why,  you  look  so 
much  bigger,  and  don't  you  remember  how  you 
used  to  stoop  over  f  " 

"  Did  I  ?  "  asked  the  young  man,  not  altogether 
relishing  these  personalities  because  of  a  girl  in 
brown  who  was  watching  him,  an  unconscious 
smile  touching  the  corners  of  her  mouth.  This 
was  the  season  when  new  relays  of  summer  girls 
spring  up  each  morning  at  the  Point  like  fresh 
daisies  on  the  plain  ;  and  Mr.  Spencer,  like  his 


234  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

companions,  was  used  to  their  arrival  and  expected 
it ;  but  it  is  not  often  given  to  cadet-kind  to  see 
such  a  face  and  form  as  Olive's,  even  in  that  haunt 
of  lovely  maidens. 

Under  the  circumstances,  Miss  Bagg's  reminis- 
cences made  the  young  fellow's  dress-coat  feel 
even  warmer  than  usual,  and  when  his  sister  laid 
her  hand  on  his  arm  to  introduce  him  to  Miss  Car- 
lyle,  he  experienced  a  double  pleasure  in  the  relief 
from  Lydia's  comments  and  the  discovery  that 
this  beauty  was  the  individual  for  whose  behoof 
he  had  made  a  fraternal  sacrifice  of  his  hop-card. 
If  virtue  always  recompensed  its  followers  as 
promptly  and  handsomely  as  it  had  done  in  this 
case,  he  thought  life  would  be  well  worth  living. 

"  Where  were  you  during  the  drill  ?  "  he  asked 
of  his  sister,  who  read  the  surprise  and  approval 
in  his  eyes  with  secret  amusement  and  satisfaction. 

"  Over  on  the  library  steps.  We  were  lucky 
that  Miss  Bagg  did  not  insist  upon  our  viewing  it 
from  across  the  river,"  replied  Bertha.  "  Ralph, 
I  want  to  introduce  you  to  Mr.  Van  Kirk.  He 
graduated  from  here  four  years  ago." 

"  Does  n't  it  make  you  homesick  to  come  back, 
Max?"  asked  Olive. 

The  ex-lieutenant  shook  his  head. 

"  Do  you  think  any  one  would  like  to  go  through 
this  mill  twice,  Miss  Carlyle  ?  "  asked  Ralph,  with 
the  smile  which  his  sister  thought  the  most  beauti- 
ful that  ever  illumined  a  man's  face. 

"  Why,  it  is  the  loveliest  place  I  ever  saw,"  re- 


WEST  POINT.  235 

plied  Olive.  "  I  think  you  are  very  much  to  be 
envied." 

Spencer  shook  his  head  in  his  turn.  "  I  believe 
it  is  generally  admitted  that  a  bird  does  n't  like 
his  cage  any  better  because  the  bars  happen  to  be 
gilded,"  4ie  answered. 

"  I  think  you  are  very  ungrateful,"  said  Olive, 
and  as  all  comment  from  lips  like  hers  is  flattery, 
Ralph  would  have  liked  to  linger  and  enlighten 
her,  but  his  friend  Heinenway  laid  a  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"  Worse  than  ungrateful,  Miss  Carlyle,"  he  re- 
marked ;  "  Mr.  Spencer  is  growing  poetical,  and 
with  him  that  always  means  getting  a  '  late'  a  little 
further  on.  Come,  Ralph." 

"  All  right."  Spencer  turned  to  his  sister.  "  I 
am  not  sure,  Babe,  that  I  can  see  you  this  evening ; 
I  '11  try  to  make  it ;  but  if  anything  prevents,  why, 
I  will  see  you  at  guard-mounting  in  the  morning." 

The  two  friends  made  their  adieus  and  set  off 
down  the  path  toward  barracks.  They  were  both 
tall,  and  nearly  of  a  height ;  their  white  trousers 
swung  forward  in  steps  of  exactly  the  same  length. 
Their  faces,  the  instant  they  ceased  talking,  wore 
a  dignified  and  unsmiling,  almost  stern  expression, 
which  seemed  to  betoken  that  they  had  found  life 
a  serious  affair,  as,  indeed,  they  had,  —  at  least  for 
three  years.  There  was  an  alert  and  concentrated 
gaze  in  the  keen  eyes,  which  had  been  trained 
never  to  overlook  anything,  including  the  ubiqui- 
tous instructor,  who  is  to  be  saluted  even  from  afar, 


236  MI8S  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

or  else  a  fate  befalls  which  in  the  cadets'  classic 
vernacular  is  described  as  being  "  skinned  for  not 
worshiping  an  officer." 

Miss  Lydia  and  her  two  girls  looked  after  their 
retreating  forms  admiringly.  They  saw  them  lift 
their  right  hands  to  their  caps  in  an  unbending  sa- 
lute to  Gary,  who  had  drifted  down  the  path  to 
talk  with  some  friends. 

"  If  I  could  walk  like  that,"  declared  Miss  Bagg, 
regarding  the  two  erect  figures,  "  I  would  n't  do 
anything,  seems  to  me,  but  just  walk  up  and  down 
in  front  of  a  looking-glass.  This  is  where  you 
learned  how,"  she  added  simply,  looking  up  at 
Van  Kirk.  "  I  have  noticed  you  never  put  your 
hands  in  your  pockets  and  slouch." 

"  Those  young  men  certainly  can't  indulge  in 
anything  so  unsoldierly,"  replied  Max,  "for  they 
haven't  any  pockets." 

"  What  ?   No  pockets  at  all  1 " 

"  Not  one." 

"  But  their  handkerchiefs,"  exclaimed  Miss 
Bagg. 

"  They  carry  those  up  their  sleeves." 

"  Well,  it 's  a  wonder  the  government  lets  them 
have  anything  so  comfortable  as  sleeves,"  said 
Lydia.  It  was  a  remarkably  sarcastic  speech  for 
her,  but  she  was  beginning  to  feel  the  infection  of 
sympathy  for  the  cadet  and  the  defensive  attitude 
toward  Uncle  Sam  which  by  some  occult  law  seizes 
a  woman  soon  after  she  sets  foot  in  this  fair  corner 
of  our  native  land. 


WEST  POINT.  237 

Max  smiled.  "The  cadets  could  not  look  as 
though  they  had  been  inelted  and  poured  into  their 
uniforms  otherwise,"  he  said.  "  Don't  be  too  hard 
on  the  powers  that  be.  You  see  they  turn  out  an 
article  of  very  military  appearance  by  their  meth- 
ods." 

He  looked  at  Miss  Carlyle,  whose  expressive 
face  showed  her  intense  interest  in  every  feature 
of  her  novel  surroundings.  "Glad  you  came, 
Olive?  "  he  asked,  after  the  pause  during  which 
he  had  watched  her. 

She  lifted  her  eyes  to  his.  "  I  was  just  think- 
ing," she  returned  slowly,  "how  glad  I  am  that  I 
am  alive." 

"  Did  it  never  occur  to  you  before  to  appreciate 
that?" 

"  I  believe  not.  I  never  heard  birds  sing  like 
this  before.  Why  don't  all  these  people  stop  talk- 
ing, so  one  can  hear  the  notes  better  ?  " 

"  There  you  see  the  objection  to  living,"  re- 
marked Max.  "One  has  to  grin  and  bear  so 
many  things." 

"Thank  you  for  the  allusion  to  my  graceful 
manner  of  endurance,"  returned  Olive,  "  but  I  can 
afford  to  be  very  compassionate  of  an  unfortunate 
who  must  tear  himself  right  away  from  this  en- 
chanting spot." 

"  You  are  not  rid  of  me  yet.  Gary  says  he  can 
put  me  up,  and  he  won't  hear  of  my  leaving  to- 
night. I  think  I  will  stay  over  a  day." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  REVIEW. 

"  GUARD  mounting,  Miss  Carlyle."  Bertha  woke 
her  friend  the  next  morning  with  these  words,  and 
the  alacrity  with  which  Olive  came  to  her  senses 
and  grasped  the  situation  planted  her  more  firmly 
than  ever  in  Miss  Spencer's  good  graces.  The 
parade  the  evening  before  had  aroused  much  en- 
thusiasm in  our  trio,  and  nowthey  were  eager  for 
a  new  phase  of  the  military  spectacle,  and,  dressing 
themselves  quickly,  left  the  quiet  house  and  came 
out  into  the  brilliant  June  morning. 

The  river  sparkled,  the  hills  wore  their  morning 
fairness,  the  towering  elms  arched  above  the  ave- 
nues, and  bird  songs  trilled  and  fluted  across  the 
expanse  of  the  peaceful  plain.  Miss  Bagg  and 
her  girls  looked  toward  the  turreted  gray  pile  on 
the  other  side  as  they  sauntered  along,  pausing  at 
Trophy  Point  to  drink  in  new  draughts  of  pleasure 
from  the  view. 

But  Cro'  Nest,  Storm  King,  and  the  other  fa- 
mous guardians  of  the  beautiful  river  had  more 
than  one  rival  in  Miss  Spencer's  heart.  "  Come," 
she  said  practically,  "  the  view  won't  run  away  and 
the  cadets  will." 


THE  REVIEW.  239 

Even  as  she  spoke,  her  averted  eyes  caught  sight 
of  two  military  figures  on  the  path  opposite  Pro- 
fessor's Row.  "  Ah,  there  they  come  now,"  she 
added. 

The  three  hastened  to  meet  the  young  men,  who 
greeted  them  cordially. 

Bertha  fell  behind  with  Mr.  Hemenway,  as  her 
brother  gravitated  naturally  to  Olive's  side. 

"  The  weather  is  very  good  to  us,"  observed 
Hemenway,  looking  extremely  content  with  his 
situation  as  he  took  his  companion's  parasol  and 
held  it  over  her. 

"  Dear  me,"  returned  Miss  Spencer,  "  have  you 
been  at  West  Point  three  years  and  can't  talk 
about  anything  but  the  weather?  " 

"  Give  me  time,"  said  the  cadet,  naturally  in- 
jured. 

"  Especially  in  June,"  continued  Bertha  ruth- 
lessly. "  If  the  weather  deserves  credit  for  being 
pleasant  in  June,  when  may  we  expect  anything 
of  it?" 

"  I  only  mentioned  it  because  I  was  so  glad  you 
could  come  out,"  replied  the  young  man,  with  the 
meekness  which  even  members  of  the  war-school 
will  sometimes  display  when  the  enemy  has  a  dim- 
ple in  each  cheek  and  says  insolent  things  in  a 
sweet  voice. 

"  Yes,  we  had  to  come  without  our  breakfasts," 
remarked  Bertha.  "  It  is  all  very  nice  for  you, 
who  have  had  your  coffee.  It  seems  that  hard- 
ships are  in  the  very  air  here." 


240  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"You  might  talk  about  hardships,  if  you  had 
to  march  to  breakfast  by  moonlight,  as  we  do  lots 
of  times." 

"  They  could  n't  make  me,"  returned  Miss  Spen- 
cer, with  a  little  grimace  of  defiance.  "  I  have 
always  understood  that  getting  up  early  in  the 
morning  was  equivalent  to  cleverness.  I  am  cured 
of  that  idea." 

Mr.  Hemenway  knew  it  was  not  safe  for  him  to 
inquire  into  the  cause  of  this  disillusion,  yet  he 
rushed  upon  his  fate  with  the  valor  of  his  calling. 

"  How  is  that  ?  " 

"  I  think  with  a  very  ordinary  degree  of  bright- 
ness you  might  have  found  me  —  us  —  during  light 
battery  drill  yesterday." 

"  Now,  Miss  Baby,"  —  the  first-sergeant  chev- 
rons on  Mr.  Hemenway's  sleeve  flashed  in  the  sun- 
light as  he  brought  one  hand  down  in  an  earnest 
gesture. 

"  Oh,  what  is  the  use  of  saying  anything  about 
it  ?  "  interrupted  the  clear,  sweet  voice.  "  If  you 
had  wished  it  "  — 

"  I  did  wish  it,"  ejaculated  the  badgered  young 
man  in  tones  nearly  as  stentorian  as  those  in  which 
he  announced  to  the  adjutant  at  parade  that  Com- 
pany C  was  "  present  or  accounted  for." 

"  Then  you  would  have  done  it.  We  were 
there,"  declared  Miss  Spencer  iucontrovertibly. 
"You  can't  think,"  she  added  in  a  different  tone, 
her  dark  eyes  looking  straight  up  into  her  com- 
panion's, "  how  I  was  longing  to  see  —  Ralph  all 


THE  REVIEW.  241 

the  while.  I  was  so  impatient  as  time  went  by 
that  I  nearly  mentioned  the  Dutch  hotel." 

"What?" 

"  Why,  the  Dutch  hotel.  Did  n't  I  ever  tell  you 
about  it  ?  But  I  ought  not  to.  I  have  no  right  to 
come  up  here  out  of  the  wicked  world  and  attack 
the  morals  of  a  '  cadet  and  a  gentleman.'  " 

"  Go  on.  Tell  me."  Mr.  Hemenway  took 
heart  of  grace  to  smile  for  the  first  time. 

"  You  won't  report  me  ?  Well,  summer  before 
last,  when  we  were  in  Holland,  I  happened  to  see 
the  advertisement  of  a  hotel.  The  name  of  it  was 
Dam!" 

Miss  Spencer's  velvety  eyes  again  met  those  of 
her  escort  in  an  impressive  gaze.  He  made  a 
broader  display  of  his  white  teeth. 

"Oh,  wait.  It  is  no  laughing  matter.  The 
advertisement  read:  'Hotel  Dam.  At  Hoekdam 
in  Edam,  between  Amsterdam  and  Volendam.' 
When  I  had  finished  reading  that  card  I  felt  as 
wicked  !  " 

Mr.  Hemenway's  laugh  caused  the  trio  before 
them  to  look  around. 

"  We  may  as  well  sit  here,"  suggested  Ralph, 
stopping  at  a  seat  midway  of  the  plain. 

Miss  Bagg  looked  anxiously  about.  "  I  am 
afraid  Mr.  Van  Kirk  is  going  to  miss  it,"  she 
said. 

"  He  has  seen  guard-mounting  before,"  remarked 
Ralph. 

"  Look,  look,  Miss  Bagg,"  cried  Bertha,  for  the 


242  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

gayly  uniformed  band  appeared  on  the  crest  of  the 
hill  at  their  left  and  marched  silently  across  the 
plain.  The  sun  gleamed  from  their  brasses  as  their 
measured  tread  fell  upon  the  soft  green  turf. 

The  bird -notes  still  rang  clearly  through  the 
morning  hush.  There  was  no  sign  of  life  in  the 
houses  that  lined  the  farther  side  of  the  avenue, 
and  but  few  spectators  were  seated  under  the  great 
trees. 

"  There  they  come,  —  look  down  toward  bar- 
racks," said  Mr.  Spencer. 

Six  eager  eyes  were  immediately  turned  toward 
the  broad  sally-port,  through  which  rows  of  bay- 
onets began  to  gleam.  The  thrushes  and  robins 
were  overpowered  by  stirring  strains  from  the 
band,  and  the  gray  and  white  figures  of  the  cadet 
guard  came  through  the  heavy  stone  arch  and 
moved  in  "  double  time "  out  upon  the  plain. 
Their  evolutions  to  the  rhythmic  music  made  so 
pleasing  a  spectacle  that  it  seemed  a  marvel  to 
Miss  Bagg  that  any  one  within  a  mile  was  willing 
to  miss  seeing  the  display. 

She  came  to  herself  as  the  silent  band  marched 
back  again  across  the  road  toward  their  barracks, 
to  find  her  quartette  of  young  people  chattering. 

"  We  would  like  to  take  Miss  Spencer  and  Miss 
Carlyle  around  Flirtation  Walk  this  morning," 
said  Mr.  Hemenway  to  Lydia,  as  in  a  few  minutes 
they  all  paused  at  the  hedge  before  the  hotel. 

Miss  Bagg  looked  scandalized.  "  I  would  pre- 
fer they  should  not  go,"  she  replied  quickly. 


THE  REVIEW.  243 

Bertha  looked  distressed.  "  Why,  we  must  see 
it,  Miss  Bagg  ;  everybody  goes." 

"  Say  no  more  about  it,  Baby,"  said  Lydia,  with 
determination.  "  I  will  take  you  myself  some  day, 
if  it  is  a  proper  place." 

"  Oh,  there  is  an  embarrassment  of  riches  in  the 
way  of  picturesque  spots  about  here,"  remarked 
Ralph  carelessly.  "  I  suppose  you  will  have  no  ob- 
jection to  the  Chain  Battery  Walk,  Miss  Bagg?" 

Lydia  looked  at  him  thoughtfully.  "  I  should 
say  certainly  not,"  she  replied.  "  It  sounds  as  if 
it  might  be  quite  educational." 

"  One  of  the  most  educational  institutions  we 
have,"  he  declared  promptly,  in  his  frank,  engag- 
ing manner. 

"  I  know  the  whole  town  is  full  of  historic  inter- 
est," agreed  Miss  Bagg  heartily. 

The  cadet  smiled  upon  her. 

"  I  must  begin  your  military  training,  I  see. 
West  Point  is  a  post  and  not  a  town." 

Lydia  looked  into  his  bright  face,  and,  thanking 
him,  gave  him  her  hand  to  shake.  She  was  grate- 
ful to  him  for  accepting  so  pleasantly  her  veto 
upon  the  morning  plan.  Wrhat  charming  brown 
eyes  and  what  well-cut,  aristocratic  features  the 
young  fellow  had.  As  he  paused  that  moment 
with  his  cap  lifted  and  she  remarked  the  waves  of 
short,  dark  hair  above  his  forehead,  she  felt  sorry 
for  the  mother  who  could  not  be  here  to  see  and 
glory  in  him. 

Osborn  Hemenway  stood  like  a  gray  monument, 


244  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

waiting.  Strength  was  expressed  in  every  line  of 
his  face  and  figure.  His  lips  twitched  now  in  a 
boyish  smile,  pleasant  to  see  on  his  young  face. 

He  was  the  first  to  speak  when,  after  making 
their  adieus,  the  two  cadets  turned  away. 

"  Miss  Bagg  is  evidently  inclined  to  do  the 
dragon  business  thoroughly,"  he  said,  as  they 
struck  off  across  the  plain  with  that  gait  and  car- 
riage which  a  spectator  at  West  Point  feels  to  be 
a  criticism  on  the  average  human  being. 

"  Yes,  and  after  Ashley  precedents.  It  is  of  no 
use  to  argue  with  such  people,"  replied  Spencer 
airily. 

"  So  I  perceived  that  you  thought,"  returned 
his  companion,  with  a  grin  of  appreciation. 

"Miss 'Bagg  is  a  good  little  woman,"  said 
Ralph,  "  and  a  mighty  lucky  one.  Miss  Carlyle 
appears  to  be  part  of  her  good  fortune.  She  calls 
her  '  Cousin  Lydia.'  I  don't  understand  it.  She 
seems  to  be  a  howling  swell ;  but  I  can  only  be 
grateful  that  Miss  Bagg  inherited  her.  By  Jove, 
how  bewitching  she  looked  this  morning  !  " 

"  Yes,"  responded  Hemenway,  with  such  evi- 
dent preoccupation  that  Ralph  laughed  him  to 
scorn. 

"  Confess,  now,  you  are  jealous  of  my  good  for- 
tune." 

"  What  good  fortune  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  nonsense.  To  think  I  am  her  partner 
for  to-night." 

"  That  is  all  right,"  returned  Hemenway  equa- 


THE  REVIEW.  245 

bly.  "  You  seem  to  have  forgotten  that  I  take 
your  sister." 

"  That  is  a  fact,"  admitted  Spencer  with  tardy 
brotherly  appreciation,  "  and  I  will  say  for  Babe, 
if  she  is  n't  a  goddess,  she  gets  there  just  the  same 
when  it  comes  to  a  matter  of  dancing." 

"  Fairies  are  ahead  of  goddesses  every  time  in 
the  ball-room,"  remarked  Hemenway.  "  I  '11  tell 
you  what  I  '11  do  with  you.  I  '11  give  you  one  of  my 
dances  with  Miss  Carlyle  for  one  of  yours  with 
Miss  Baby." 

"  Done.  You  won't  go  back  on  it  when  you 
find  that  Miss  Carlyle  dances  like  a  feather  ?  " 

"  No."  The  reply  was  brief  and  quiet,  but 
Hemenway's  chin  was  of  that  contour  which  did 
not  suggest  a  habit  of  "going  back  on  "  anything 
that  he  had  said. 

It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  that  day  when  Van 
Kirk's  card  was  brought  to  Miss  Bagg's  room, 
where  she  was  engaged  in  unpacking  and  arrang- 
ing her  own  and  Olive's  effects. 

She  came  down  to  the  parlor,  and  her  secre- 
tary was  glad  to  see  a  new  vivacity  in  her  face. 

"Great  place,  is  n't  it?"  he  said,  smiling,  as 
they  shook  hands. 

"  I  never  saw  anything  like  it,"  she  responded. 
"  Why  did  n't  you  come  out  this  morning  and  see 
the  guard  —  do  things  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  've  seen  the  guard  '  do  things '  quite 
frequently ;  but  the  fact  is,  Gary  and  I  talked 
most  of  the  night  and  we  slept  late.  I  thought 


246  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

you  and  your  maidens  might  like  to  go  for  a  walk 
about  now." 

"  The  girls  have  gone  with  Ralph  and  Mr.  Heni- 
enway,  but  I  should  admire  to.  I  want  to  learn 
the  pretty  places." 

"  Yes,  and  you  could  not  have  a  better  day  than 
this  to  see  Flirtation.  Put  on  your  bonnet,  Miss 
Bagg,  and  let  us  go." 

Lydia,  who  had  risen,  paused.  "  What  is  this 
Flirtation  ?  " 

"  Come  and  see." 

"  It  does  n't  seem  as  if  I  ought  to,  for  I  would  n't 
let  the  girls  go.  I  did  n't  like  the  sound  of  it,  and 
I  feel  a  great  responsibility  in  the  care  of  those 
girls." 

"  Well,  come  and  learn  the  way ;  then  you  can 
take  them  yourself." 

With  this  reasoning.  Lydia  soothed  her  con- 
science, and  putting  on  her  wrap  and  bonnet  sal- 
lied forth  with  her  escort. 

Going  down  the  flight  of  steps  at  the  back  of 
the  hotel,  they  immediately  became  embowered  in 
the  leafy  labyrinth  through  which  the  narrow  path 
threads  its  way. 

Max  had  as  a  cadet  done  his  full  share  of  ram- 
bling through  this  historic  walk.  His  companions 
hitherto  had  been  younger  than  Miss  Bagg,  but  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  not  one  of  them  had  been  so 
alive  to  the  beauty  which  nature  with  a  lavish  hand 
has  scattered  in  this  favored  spot. 

Flowers,  wild  strawberries,  ferns,  mosses,  high 


THE  REVIEW.  247 

granite  walls,  and  soft,  interlacing  foliage ;  now  a 
broad  glimpse  of  river  and  hills,  again  a  green, 
shadowy  glade  in  the  dense  depths  of  forest. 
Miss  Lydia  enjoyed  and  wondered  at  it  all,  long- 
ing, as  each  new  vista  entranced  her  gaze,  for  the 
moment  when  those  dear,  defrauded  girls  should 
revel  in  this  nearness  to  nature's  heart.  All  her 
enjoyment  was  tinged  with  a  slight  guilt. 

"  Listen,"  said  Max.  Miss  Lydia,  following  his 
example,  stood  still.  The  mysterious  murmur  of  a 
rushing  underground  brook  contrasted  with  the 
bird-calls  in  the  trees.  All  about  them  was  the 
June  freshness  of  a  wild  woodland  scene. 

Miss  Bagg  looked  at  her  escort.  "  Oh,  those 
poor  girls ! "  she  exclaimed,  unable  longer  to  keep 
silence ;  and  even  as  she  spoke,  two  couples  ap- 
peared around  a  curve  in  the  path,  sauntering  at  a 
leisurely  pace. 

They  were  two  young  ladies  and  two  immacu- 
late, tall  cadets. 

"  Why,  Miss  Bagg,  I  am  so  glad  you  are  here," 
cried  the  first  girl,  who  was  Bertha  Spencer,  with 
unmistakable  sincerity.  "  Good-morning,  Mr.  Van 
Kirk.  Is  n't  this  heavenly  ?  " 

Mr.  Spencer,  who  was  following  with  Olive,  be- 
gan to  redden.  It  was  one  of  the  moments  which 
try  men's  souls. 

Miss  Lydia  had  selected  him  as  the  target  for 
her  bewildered,  offended  gaze,  and  he  came  for- 
ward. "  I  am  glad  you  decided  to  try  it  for  your- 
self, Miss  Bagg,"  he  remarked  cheerfully. 


248  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Van  Kirk  gazed  at  him  rather  superciliously. 
What  right  had  this  young  sprig  to  be  carrying 
Miss  Carlyle's  closed  parasol  through  forbidden 
paths  ?  Olive's  sailor  hat  was  perilously  becoming. 
Her  whole  costume  had  something  in  its  effect 
which  heightened  Spencer's  presumption  in  Van 
Kirk's  eyes. 

"  You  see  it  is  a  lovely  spot,"  added  Ralph. 

"  I  said  the  girls  could  not  come  here,"  declared 
Miss  Bagg.  "  Girls,  why  did  you  disregard  me  ?  " 

"  Why,  Cousin  Lydia,"  exclaimed  Olive  ear- 
nestly, "  you  said  we  could  come." 

"  I  said  you  could  go  on  some  kind  of  a  chain 
walk,"  returned  Miss  Bagg  severely. 

"  The  Chain  Battery  Walk ;  yes,"  said  Bertha 
glibly.  "  This  is  it.  Where  did  you  think  we 
were  ?  " 

"  Did  n't  you  say  this  was  Flirtation  Walk  ?  " 
asked  Miss  Bagg  of  her  escort. 

He  nodded,  and  could  not  repress  a  smile  at  the 
determined  expression  on  Ralph  Spencer's  coun- 
tenance. 

"  You  can  pay  your  twenty-five  cents  and  take 
your  choice  of  either  name  for  it,"  replied  Max, 
and  his  smile  broadened.  The  others  laughed,  — 
all  but  Miss  Bagg. 

"  Ralph  Spencer,  you  have  played  me  a  trick," 
she  said. 

Bertha  came  forward  and  shook  a  finger  at  lu-r. 
"What  have  you  played  us?"  she  asked,  her 
merry  eyes  sparkling.  "  Told  us  we  must  n't  walk 


THE  REVIEW.  249 

around  Flirtation,  and  as  soon  as  our  backs  were 
turned,  made  for  the  very  same  spot  yourself  with 
a  young  man.  Oh,  Miss  Bagg !  "  Lydia  bit  her 
lip  and  tried  to  look  stern,  but  did  not  wholly  suc- 
ceed. "  However,  we  '11  forgive  you,"  continued 
Bertha  magnanimously.  "  This  walk  is  a  rose  that 
could  not  smell  other  than  sweet  under  any  name. 
We  came  in  at  opposite  ends,  did  n't  we  ?  You 
have  the  most  adorable  places  still  before  you.  Be 
sure  and  take  her  out  on  Gee's  Point,  Mr.  Van 
Kirk." 

There  really  did  not  seem  much  for  Miss  Bagg 
to  say.  After  her  first  natural  resentment  at  be- 
ing outwitted,  she  could  not  help  being  glad  that 
the  girls  were  sharing  her  pleasure. 

"Forgive  me  this  once,"  said  Spencer  auda- 
ciously, coming  near  to  her  and  speaking  caress- 
ingly. "  Stratagem  is  one  of  the  arts  of  war,  you 
know.  It  is  a  matter  of  conscience  with  me  to 
practice  when  opportunity  offers.  Have  to  show 
my  gratitude  to  the  Government  so  far  as  that, 
you  know." 

"  You  are  a  scamp,"  announced  Lydia  ;  but  the 
corners  of  her  lips  were  not  very  firm. 

Heinenway  could  not  have  coaxed  with  such  in- 
fectiously mischievous  eyes ;  but  Heinenway  would 
not  have  put  himself  in  such  a  dilemma.  Subter- 
fuge never  even  occurred  to  his  straightforward 
and  literal  mode  of  thought. 

The  whole  party  were  smiling  when  they  sep» 
rated  and  went  their  opposite  ways. 


250  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Van  Kirk's  thoughts  dwelt  for  a  long  time  upon 
Olive  as  she  looked,  standing  there  in  the  sun- 
pierced,  leafy  bower,  with  the  earnest,  anxious  ex- 
pression in  her  face. 

"  I  think  you  are  all  going  to  have  a  pleasant 
time  up  here,"  he  said  at  last. 

"  Yes,  it  is  such  a  pity  you  cannot  stay.  Now, 
I  want  you  to  plan  to  be  here  all  you  can.  You 
will,  won't  you,  Mr.  Van  Kirk  ?  You  need  a 
change  as  much  as  anybody.  All  work  and  no 
play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy.  You  have  been  a 
dull  boy  of  late  compared  to  what  you  used  to  be." 

"  Yes,  I  know  it.     I  have  had  good  reason." 

Miss  Bagg  grew  alertly  attentive.  If  her  be- 
loved secretary  wished  to  confide  in  her,  she  would 
be  only  too  glad  to  receive  his  confidences ;  but 
he  said  no  more.  They  strolled  on  at  a  very  lover- 
like  gait,  he  keeping  sombre  eyes  on  the  ground. 

"  What  is  the  news  from  your  mother  ?  " 

"  Very  good.  She  is  much  better.  They  are 
coming  home  soon.  I  do  not  know  yet  where  they 
intend  to  go  during  the  summer." 

"  Perhaps  you  will  want  to  spend  your  vacation 
with  them,"  hazarded  Miss  Bagg. 

"  I  am  not  in  need  of  a  vacation,"  he  answered. 
"  Here  is  Gee's  Point.  Would  you  like  to  sit 
down  a  minute  ?  "  He  led  his  companion  out  to  a 
seat  among  the  rocks,  where  nothing  intervened 
between  them  and  the  broad  sweep  of  the  river. 

"  If  it  had  not  been  for  you,  I  should  have  lost 
all  this,"  said  Lydia,  as  a  white-winged  yacht  cut 


THE  REVIEW.  251 

through  the  rippling  water  within  a  stone's-throw 
of  them,  its  sails  outlined  against  the  picturesque 
banks  beyond. 

"  I  shall  get  you  well  trained  into  accepting  my 
advice,"  returned  Max,  leaning  back  in  his  end  of 
the  settee  and  baring  his  head  to  the  exhilarating 
breeze. 

"  Indeed  you  will,  if  you  continue  to  prescribe 
such  delightful  things  as  West  Point.  I  shall 
come  to  believe  that  you  know  ever  so  much  better 
what  I  want  than  I  do  myself." 

Van  Kirk  looked  at  the  speaker,  who  was  revel- 
ing in  the  view,  unconscious  of  his  gaze.  Lydia 
still  wore  her  little  tuft  of  curls,  and  her  gray  hair 
was  curly  about  her  forehead.  She  was  extremely 
well  dressed  in  a  quiet  and  tasteful  fashion,  and 
her  easy,  pleasant  life  had  agreed  with  her  so  well 
that  Max  contrasted  her  appearance  with  that  of 
the  stranger  he  had  visited  one  morning  in  Ashley 
and  felt  a  pride  in  the  change ;  for,  after  all,  he 
had  never  rid  himself  of  the  idea  which  she  herself 
impressed  upon  him,  that  she  was  more  his  protegee 
than  his  employer.  He  smiled  at  his  paradoxical 
thoughts,  but  the  smile  was  followed  by  a  deep, 
involuntary  sigh. 

"  To  know,  ourselves,  what  we  want  is  quite  an 
art,"  he  remarked.  "  You  know  one  says  as  the 
explanation  of  the  petulance  of  a  child  that  he 
does  n't  know  what  he  wants.  I  think  in  the  case 
of  restlessness  of  children  of  a  larger  growth  the 
explanation  might  often  be  the  same." 


252  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"Aha,  my  young  friend,"  thought  Miss  Bagg, 
•with  a  furtive  look  into  his  averted  face,  "  if  you 
have  come  to  the  place  where  you  are  not  so  sure 
what  you  want,  there  is  a  point  gained." 

But  a  sudden,  disconcerting  idea  damped  her 
exultation.  Supposing  her  secretary  were  hinting 
at  a  change  in  his  attitude  of  mind  regarding  the 
money.  Perhaps  he  was  paving  the  way  for  an 
announcement  that  he  wished  now  to  avail  himself 
of  the  offer  which  she  had  assured  him  would  al- 
ways remain  open. 

Poor  Miss  Bagg  !  She  felt  that  it  would  be  so 
difficult  to  refuse  him  that  her  cheeks  reddened, 
and  surely  none  of  the  maidens  who  had  preceded 
her  as  Van  Kirk's  companion  in  this  favorite  re- 
sort ever  endured  such  agitation  of  the  heart  as 
now  attacked  her  ;  but  her  determination  did  not 
waver.  She  would  save  the  young  man  from  him- 
self. Whether  or  no  he  lived  to  thank  her  did  not 
matter. 

"  Do  you  find  you  know  better  what  you  want 
as  time  goes  on  ?  "  she  asked,  the  line  of  her  lips 
growing  thin  and  firm. 

"  I  know  less  and  less,"  he  replied  moodily,  and 
Lydia  relaxed  in  every  emotion  and  muscle. 

The  deep  report  of  a  cannon  struck  upon  her 
ears.  Miss  Bagg  bounded  to  her  feet  like  the 
war-horse  who  scents  the  battle  from  afar.  "  An- 
other drill,"  she  ejaculated. 

"  No,  wait  a  minute." 

Soon  a  second  signal  reechoed  among  the  hills. 
Then  another  and  another. 


THE  REVIEW.  253 

"  Some  dignitary  has  arrived,"  said  Max.  "  All 
the  better  for  you.  You  will  be  likely  to  see  some 
extra  show." 

"  Then  let  us  go  back,"  returned  Miss  Bagg, 
with  alacrity. 

They  returned  to  the  woodland  path,  which 
from  here  is  an  arbor  of  arched  and  interlacing 
branches,  and  soon  emerged  into  the  sunshine  near 
Battery  Knox. 

When  they  reached  the  hotel  they  found  Olive 
and  Bertha  on  the  piazza  with  their  escorts. 

"  The  Secretary  of  War  has  arrived,"  announced 
Bertha,  as  they  drew  near. 

"  And  now  we  shall  probably  be  reviewed," 
added  her  brother  in  disgusted  tones,  as  he  rose 
and  drew  forward  a  chair  for  Miss  Bagg. 

"I  wish  his  excellency  had  staid  at  home," 
ejaculated  Hemenway.  "  The  idea  of  wasting  this 
beautiful  afternoon." 

"  All  the  cadets  will  be  reviewed  on  the  plain," 
exclaimed  Olive.  "Think  of  it.  I  am  ever  so 
much  obliged  to  the  great  man  for  coming." 

"  I  did  n't  suppose  you  could  be  so  heartless," 
observed  Mr.  Spencer  reproachfully.  "  Wait  till 
you  see  how  little  fun  it  is  for  the  victims.  Such 
a  bore  to  stand  there  in  the  hot  sun  !  " 

"It  will  be  very  interesting,"  remarked  Miss 
Bagg  calmly,  "  and  if  the  sun  blazes  down  on  you 
with  double  power,  Ralph  Spencer,  it  will  be  no 
more  than  you  deserve." 

"  Now,  Miss  Bagg,"  returned  the  self-possessed 


254  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

youth, "  that  joke  was  on  you,  you  know  it  was  ; 
but  I  will  promise  never  to  twit  you  with  it." 

"  I  shall  be  on  the  lookout  for  you  after  this," 
declared  Lydia.  "  I  am  forearmed  now." 

That  afternoon  a  large  crowd  gathered  under 
the  trees  fronting  the  parade  ground.  Seats  were 
at  a  premium.  Double  lines  of  gay  and  delicate 
summer  costumes,  flower-bestrewn  hats,  and  rain- 
bow tints  of  swaying  parasols  enlivened  the  scene. 
The  air  was  full  of  an  incessant,  pleasant  din  of 
talk  and  laughter. 

Van  Kirk  and  an  officer  named  Long  stood  be- 
hind the  camp-stools  where  Lydia  and  her  girls 
were  seated.  Olive's  fluffy  parasol  of  cream  white, 
as  it  rested  on  her  shoulder,  framed  her  face  when 
she  occasionally  turned  to  speak  to  one  of  the  men, 
and  each  time  she  did  so,  Max  wished  more  heartily 
that  he  were  going  to  stay  to-night  and  see  her  in 
the  ball-room. 

He  was  alert  to  observe  the  glances  of  admira- 
tion that  rested  upon  her.  He  saw,  without  hear- 
ing, the  remarks  with  which  one  called  upon  an- 
other to  regard  her. 

"  They  will  spoil  her  unconsciousness  before  the 
two  weeks  are  over,"  he  thought  regretfully,  —  "  if 
the  dressmaker  has  n't  done  it  already,"  he  added 
with  a  dubious  glance  at  the  gown  she  wore.  It 
was  silky  as  a  dove's  plumage,  and  had  such  soft- 
ness in  its  coloring ;  but  Van  Kirk  thought  with 
an  uneasy  sense  of  humor  that  the  subtlety  of  the 
serpent  might  for  all  that  lurk  in  its  folds. 


THE  REVIEW.  255 

"  I  would  n't  have  the  expression  of  Olive  Car- 
lyle's  eyes  changed  for  all  the  treasures  of  the 
world,"  he  thought,  and  then  it  occurred  to  him 
that  the  circumstances  did  not  warrant  such  inten- 
sity of  sentiment. 

Those  eyes  suddenly  looked  up  at  him  from  un- 
der a  distractingly  becoming  hat,  shaded  with  full, 
white  ostrich  plumes.  Their  gaze  was  warmly  ex- 
pressive, and  as  the  girl  was  mute  he  suddenly 
eagerly  lowered  his  head. 

"I  do  not  forget  that  I  owe  all  this  to  you," 
she  said  in  a  soft  tone.  His  gaze  drank  in  the 
beauty  of  hers  under  the  protection  of  her  slanted 
parasol. 

"  To  me  ?  "  he  repeated. 

"  Yes,  Miss  Bagg  told  me.  If  it  were  not  all  so 
very  delightful  here,  I  dare  say  I  should  n't  have 
thought  of  it  again.  As  it  is,  —  I  have  a  grateful 
nature."  She  smiled,  and  when  Olive  smiled  the 
deep  corners  of  her  lips  curved  exquisitely,  and  one 
dreaded  a  change  even  to  the  loveliness  of  their 
repose.  "  I  have  been  thinking  how  Ida  Fuller 
would  enjoy  being  here,"  she  added. 

The  name  stung  her  hearer  with  hot  pain.  He 
sprang  erect,  murmuring  some  reply.  The  green 
plain  seemed  to  him  to  wave,  for  the  blood  pressed 
in  his  temples.  The  passivity  of  his  waiting  atti- 
tude of  mind  was  past. 

His  cousin's  proud  face  rose  before  him.  It 
wore  no  mask.  She  had  not  deigned  to  conceal  or 
to  assume  anything.  Why  had  it  ever  fascinated 


256  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

and  tantalized  him  ?  What  was  there  in  it  a  man 
wanted  in  his  home,  by  his  fireside,  in  the  mother 
of  his  children?  He  shrank  from  the  brutality 
of  his  own  tardy,  just  estimate.  He  despised  him- 
self in  the  old  weary  fashion  of  the  disillusioned. 
What  had  captured  his  fancy  in  the  dark-eyed 
widow  had  been  so  superficial  that  not  the  pain 
of  discovering  the  unsubstantiality  of  her  charm 
equaled  his  humiliation  in  realizing  that  such  as 
>t  was  it  had  been  sufficient  to  excite  the  ardor  of 
feeling  within  him  which  had  incited  him  to  such 
pleading  and  profession.  If  he  still  loved  her,  he 
felt  that  he  could  retain  his  own  self-respect  even 
mingled  with  self-pity;  but  there  remained  no- 
thing but  ashes  from  the  transient  flame.  Recall- 
ing her  face  stirred  no  feeling  in  him  but  wea- 
riness, and  sensitiveness  as  of  a  partially  healed 
wound. 

He  beheld  the  pageant  which  began  to  move 
upon  the  greensward  as  one  in  a  dream.  He 
heard  Lydia's  soft  exclamations;  he  knew  that 
Long  stooped  and  was  answering  her  questions. 

"Mr.  Burton  has  not  yet  been  relieved  from 
duty,"  he  heard  him  say,  "  otherwise  I  should  be 
sporting  a  red  plume  out  yonder." 

"  Who  is  that  fine-looking  man  with  the  white 
mustache  ?  "  asked  Miss  Bagg. 

"  That  is  the  Commandant  of  Cadets.  You  will 
not  often  see  him  in  all  his  paraphernalia,  but  he 
and  his  whole  staff  of  tactical  officers  take  part  in 
the  ceremony  to-day." 


THE  REVIEW.  257 

Lydia  gazed  at  the  hundreds  of  gray  and  white 
figures  ranged  in  long  lines  and  absolutely  motion- 
less. They  stood  too  far  away  for  their  faces  to 
be  distinguishable,  even  had  the  chin-straps  of 
their  caps  not  disguised  them. 

"  They  are  so  exactly  alike,"  observed  Miss  Spen- 
cer, "  that  one  comes  to  feel  that  they  have  no  in- 
dividuality, after  one  has  looked  a  little  while." 

"  Unless  one  has  had  occasion  to  observe  them 
during  these  gala  days  of  extra  liberty,"  replied 
Long  with  a  smile.  "  They  are  very  individual 
as  they  hold  parasols  over  pretty  girls  and  stroll 
about  in  this  vicinity.  The  parasol  is  to  the  cadet 
what  the  fan  is  to  the  Spanish  lady." 

"  llow  interesting,"  said  Bertha  innocently,  the 
ruddy  color  of  her  own  sunshade  reflected  in  her 
cheeks.  "  Do  go  on  talking,  Mr.  Long.  It  is 
such  a  privilege  to  learn  from  one  who  has  had 
experience." 

"  Yes,  this  is  a  great  time  for  the  young 
fellows,"  continued  the  officer  good-temperedly. 
"  They  simply  overrun  the  place,  indoors  and  out. 
A  professor's  wife  with  a  pretty  daughter  and  a 
crowd  of  girl-guests  confided  to  me  yesterday  that 
she  should  be  thankful  when  the  men  went  into 
camp.  She  said  she  had  n't  been  able  to  turn 
around  in  her  parlor  for  days  without  stepping  on 
a  cadet." 

"  Well,  they  're  not  overrunning  anything  just 
now,"  observed  Miss  Bagg.  "  I  should  be  thank' 
ful  to  see  one  of  them  move  a  muscle." 


258  MISS  BAGG'S  SAY 7; AT.  1  AT. 

"  Just  forget  they  are  alive ;  that  is  the  best 
way,"  said  Bertha.  If  the  lieutenant  had  ven- 
tured to  make  such  a  suggestion,  how  quickly  the 
full  battery  of  her  indignant  glances  would  have 
withered  him ! 

'•'  They  look  precisely  like  stuffed  men,"  re- 
marked Miss  Bagg.  "  How  tired  they  must  be  !  " 

"  I  suppose  those  plumed  knights  won 't  allow 
them  to  stir,"  said  Olive. 

"  No,"  replied  Long.  "  There  is  a  tradition 
that  a  spider  once  crawled  into  a  cadet's  ear  when 
he  was  standing  at  inspection,  and,  he  remaining 
rigidly  immovable,  the  insect  crept  so  far  that  the 
victim  lost  his  life  from  the  effects." 

"  What  Spartan  could  outdo  that !  "  exclaimed 
Miss  Lydia,  in  horror  and  admiration. 

The  officer  smiled.  "  Who  dares  suggest  that 
the  Spartan  ever  lived  whose  endurance  could  sur- 
pass that  of  a  free-born  American  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  wish  you  had  n't  told  me,"  said  Miss 
Bagg.  Ralph  Spencer  had  doubtless  behaved  rep- 
rehensibly,  but  she  drew  the  line  at  torture  being 
inflicted  upon  him ;  and  she  wondered  which  of 
those  round-chested,  white-belted  heroes  he  was, 
and  whether  the  sun  did  feel  very  hot  and  uncom- 
fortable. 

"  There  is  the  Secretary  of  War,"  said  Long. 

A  civilian  walked  out  upon  the  plain,  and  at- 
tended by  the  superintendent  strolled  past  the  im- 
movable figures.  His  costume  was  the  ordinary 
Prince  Albert  suit  and  silk  hat ;  but  its  effect  as 


THE  REVIEW.  259 

well  as  that  of  his  gait  became  extraordinarily 
neglige,  contrasted  with  the  rich  uniforms  of  his 
subordinates  and  the  exactitude  of  military  elegance 
which  awaited  his  approval.  Presently  the  scene 
changed.  Not  a  cadet  in  the  corps  was  more  re- 
lieved than  Miss  Bagg  when  the  band  struck  up  an 
inspiring  measure  and,  the  long  lines  breaking  into 
small  companies,  the  battalion  marched  in  "  dou- 
ble-time "  around  the  plain.  They  moved  in  a 
measured  run,  in  which  the  officers,  even  to  the 
stately  commandant,  joined.  The  white-gloved 
closed  right  hand  of  each  man  rose  and  fell  rhyth- 
mically at  every  step.  It  was  as  though  hundreds 
of  snowballs  played  through  the  air. 

"  Well,  that  is  the  prettiest  thing  I  ever  saw  in 
my  life!  "exclaimed  Miss  Bagg. 

The  vari-colored  stripes  and  plumes  of  artillery, 
cavalry,  and  infantry,  the  glitter  of  bayonets, 
swords,  and  bell-buttons,  the  companies  of  strong, 
graceful  figures  running  in  perfect  time  to  the  gay 
and  rhythmic  music,  might  well  rouse  enthusiasm, 
especially  as  the  spectacle  was  staged,  as  Van  Kirk 
had  truly  said,  "  as  only  nature  can  do  it." 

"  Oh,  Miss  Bagg,"  said  Long,  with  mock  resig- 
nation, "  I  begin  to  see  symptoms.  I  am  afraid 
you  are  contracting  cadet  fever.  It  attacks  almost 
every  visitor  at  the  post,  but  occasionally  one  meets 
a  woman  who  escapes,  and  who  is  able  to  feel  a 
gentle  glow  for  the  officers.  Such  glorious  excep- 
tions are  rare,  though." 

The  companies  were  now  retreating  toward  the 


260  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRET AEY. 

barracks.  Olive's  eyes  sparkled.  "  I  want  to  fol- 
low the  band,"  she  said,  starting  up  and  facing 
Van  Kirk,  the  halo  of  her  parasol  encircling  her 
vivacious  face. 

He  gazed  at  her  and  made  no  response.  She 
blushed  vividly,  for  she  thought  he  considered  her 
effusive. 

*'  I  wish  I  could  stay  to-night  and  see  you  dance, 
Olive,"  he  said  after  a  pause. 

"  Oh,  are  you  going  ?  "  she  asked,  and  her  face 
sobered. 

"  Yes,  I  am  going." 

"  But  of  course  you  will  come  back." 

"  Oh,  occasionally,  to  see  how  you  behave.  I 
don't  think  I  ever  longed  quite  so  much  to  take 
a  vacation  as  I  do  just  now.  The  perversity  of 
human  nature,  I  suppose,  is  at  the  bottom  of  it, 
but  I  should  like  to  lie  around  here  a  few  days." 

"  If  I  tell  Miss  Bagg  that,  she  will  make  you  do 
it.  Is  n't  she  your  commanding  officer  ?  " 

Van  Kirk  looked  at  the  speaker  a  moment  in 
silence.  The  blue  fire  of  her  eyes  was  vivifying. 

"  If  you  do  tell  her,  I  shall  take  it  as  an  indica- 
tion that  you  would  like  to  have  me  come.  May 
I,  Olive?" 

Van  Kirk  had  been  spending  so  poignantly  bad 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  that  this  question  was  a  bold 
bid  for  a  bit  of  consoling  flattery.  But  with  the 
quickness  of  thought  Olive  was  on  the  defensive. 
Why  or  against  what  she  knew  not,  but  nothing 
could  have  been  more  candid  than  the  surprised 
air  with  which  she  replied  :  —  . 


THE  REVIEW.  261 

"  Why,  did  you  think  we  did  n't  want  you  ?  We 
are  not  such  monopolists.  Besides,  you  need  not 
judge  others  by  yourself.  I  like  family  parties, 
you  know.  Too  bad  you  must  go.  Give  my  love 
to  mother,  if  you  see  her." 


CHAPTER  XViL 

OLD   AND   NEW    CADETS. 

BY  the  time  the  lines  of  tents  gleamed  among 
the  elms  near  Fort  Clinton,  Miss  Bagg  had  made 
up  her  mind  that  two  weeks  at  West  Point  were 
not  enough.  The  girls  were,  of  course,  delighted 
with  her  decision.  The  "  board  of  visitors  "  and 
several  others  of  the  guests  had  left  the  hotel ;  but 
many  of  the  residents  of  the  post  called  upon  our 
trio,  thanks  to  the  fact  that  they  were  connections 
of  Van  Kirk,  who  had  acquaintances  among  the 
professors,  and  also  because  the  young  people  of 
the  place  are  always  hospitably  inclined  toward 
the  visiting  girl,  and  especially  toward  a  relative 
of  their  cadet  friends. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  arrived  at  the  appointed  time, 
and  then  followed  a  season  of  pure  happiness  for 
Olive,  when,  her  arm  within  her  mother's,  they 
strolled  about  the  immaculately  kept  avenues,  the 
girl  constituting  herself  cicerone. 

"  You  have  read  about  riotous  honeysuckle  and 
roses  ?  "  said  Olive,  triumphantly,  calling  her  mo- 
ther's attention  to  the  wealth  of  bloom  straying 
thickly  over  fences  and  climbing  to  the  second  sto- 
ries of  the  houses.  "  There  you  see  them." 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  263 

"  I  don't  wonder  any  longer  that  Cousin  Lydia 
looks  young,"  commented  Mrs.  Carlyle.  "This 
place  should  give  one  new  life." 

The  strains  of  "  The  Army  Blue,"  performed  by 
fifes  and  accompanied  by  drums,  reached  their 
ears. 

"  We  are  just  in  time  to  see  the  cadets  come  to 
dinner,"  said  Olive.  She  drew  her  mother  to  the 
edge  of  the  road,  whence  they  could  see  the  lines 
of  marching  figures  advancing  under  the  arching 
elms. 

"  So  they  even  have  to  march  to  meals,  do 
they?" 

"  Certainly.  They  march  to  everything,  even  to 
dancing  and  swimming  lessons.  The  whole  atmos- 
phere here  is  so  military  that  I  dare  say  their  roast- 
beef  is  served  to  them  from  the  end  of  a  bayonet ; 
but  I  have  n't  asked  anybody." 

"  What  fine  figures,  and  what  strong  faces ! " 
remarked  Mrs.  Carlyle  as  the  marching  lines  drew 
nearer. 

Olive  smiled.  "You  too?"  she  said.  "Just 
say  that  to  Cousin  Lydia,  and  you  will  give  as 
much  pleasure  as  though  you  complimented  a  fond 
mamma.  She  has  adopted  the  whole  battalion. 
She  enters  into  everything  so  energetically  that  I 
do  not  know  which  of  us  is  having  the  better  time. 
Her  simple,  earnest  ways  make  her  a  favorite  with 
everybody." 

"  Max  did  a  good  thing  for  us  all,  did  n't  he  ?  " 
said  Mrs.  Carlyle  as,  the  last  cadet  having  joined 


264  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

the  noisy  crowd  within  Mess  Hall,  the  two  contin- 
ued on  their  way  toward  the  hotel. 

"  Indeed  he  did.  Too  bad  he  cannot  take  a 
large  dose  of  his  own  prescription.  Have  you 
seen  him  recently  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes.  Do  you  know,  that  boy  has  come 
to  see  me  twice  during  the  week  ?  I  had  no  idea 
he  would  miss  Cousin  Lydia  so  much,  but  I  sup- 
pose it  must  be  the  loneliness  at  .home  that  has 
brought  him.  He  did  not  seem  to  have  any  special 
errand  either  time." 

"  Oh,  you  need  not  make  any  excuses  for  him," 
replied  Olive,  squeezing  the  arm  she  held.  "  I 
would  have  visited  you  twice  myself  the  last  week, 
if  I  could." 

"  But  Max  is  not  an  infatuated  being,"  returned 
Mrs.  Carlyle,  regarding  a  sentinel  curiously  as  he 
passed  them. 

"  I  wish  we  had  an  officer  with  us,"  said  Olive, 
"  so  you  could  see  that  soldier  gyrate.  I  quite  re- 
sent the  indifferent  manner  in  which  they  permit 
me  to  pass  when  I  am  alone.  No,  Max  is  not  infat- 
uated," she  added,  after  a  moment,  "  not  even  " 
in  a  gratified  tone  —  "  with  Ida  Fuller,  I  believe." 

"  What  makes  you  think  so  ?  " 

"The  way  he  looks  at  the  mention  of  her 
name." 

"  Are  you  interested  in  their  love  affair  ?"  asked 
Mrs.  Carlyle. 

"  Yes,  indeed."  Olive  gave  a  little  laugh.  "  I 
nearly  thought  out  a  story  once,  with  Max  for  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  265 

hero.  He  is  so  impressive  and  so  fine.  I  see  now 
why.  He  is  always  a  commander,  only  out  of  uni- 
form. To  think  he  went  through  all  this  disci- 
pline, all  this  education,  here  in  this  beautiful* 
place,  so  near  us,  and  we  saw  nothing  of  him,  knew 
nothing  of  it.  Still,  of  course,  I  was  too  young," 
added  Olive,  in  a  tone  which  made  her  mother 
smile. 

"  Yes,  and  too  poor  and  too  —  various  other 
things.  That  was  not  a  part  of  what  is  yours. 
We  have  always  what  is  our  own,  —  the  very  best 
thing  possible  for  us." 

Miss  Carlyle  gave  her  mother's  arm  another 
squeeze.  "  Is  n't  it  perfectly  delightful  to  forget 
poverty  and  West  Twenty-fourth  Street  and  the 
roomers  and  all  care  and  dirt  for  a  little  while  ?  " 

"  Indeed  it  is  a  great  thing.  How  clean  every- 
thing is  !  How  spacious  and  airy  and  how  full  of 
this  God-made  perfume  of  flowers  !  Every  sense 
is  rejoiced  up  here.  It  makes  me  so  glad  that  the 
girls  are  to  have  a  glimpse  of  sky  and  sea,  too. 
Miss  Bagg  has  made  it  easy  for  me  to  give  each 
one  a  little  outing." 

"  I  am  very  glad  for  them,  and  gladder  for 
you,"  replied  Olive,  "  for  I  think  you  need  a  vaca- 
tion as  much  as  they  do,  and  you  would  not  enjoy 
yours  unless  they  had  one." 

"  Young  things  need  to  frolic  sometimes,"  said 
Mrs.  Carlyle. 

"Then  you  are  glad  I  am  frolicking,  aren't 
you?" 


266  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Decidedly  glad,"  responded  her  mother,  smil- 
ing. 

"  I  feel  a  little  fraudulent."  declared  Olive. 
**  I  know  the  people  here  believe  I  am  a  wealthy 
New  York  girl.  They  often  say  things  which  show 
it.  I  answer  them  honestly,  but  I  don't  go  into 
particulars  and  tell  them  I  have  an  angel  of  a  mo- 
ther who  took  a  hideous  house  years  ago,  and  that 
she  rents  rooms  and  we  do  not  keep  a  servant  so 
that  we  can  save  money  to  help  friendless  girls  ; 
and  that  this  mother  and  I  wore  dreadful  gray 
shawls  and  threadbare  jackets  before  the  fairy 
godmother  touched  us." 

"  My  poor  little  girl,"  said  her  mother,  smiling. 

"  Even  Bertha  does  n't  know,"  added  Olive. 

"  No  matter,"  returned  Mrs.  Carlyle  placidly. 
"  We  can  tell  her  whenever  the  time  comes  for 
it." 

Her  daughter  did  not  look  as  though  this  sug- 
gestion elated  her. 

"What  I  want  you  to  consent  to,  dearest,  is 
that  we  shall  give  up  the  house,"  she  said  cajol- 
ingly.  "  Let  us  live  in  the  simplest  way,  we  two 
together.  Cousin  Lydia's  help  in  your  charities 
alters  the  complexion  of  things.  Admit  that  it 
does." 

"  Yes,  it  does." 

"  You  are  too  thin,  and  you  grow  too  tired," 
continued  Olive.  "  I  warn  you  that  I  have  given 
the  matter  a  great  deal  of  thought,  and  I  am  pre- 
pared to  meet  all  your  objections  ;  but  don't  bring 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  267 

them  up  now,  for  here  we  are  at  the  hotel,  and  I 
hope  you  are  as  hungrily  ready  for  dinner  as  I 
am." 

It  was  indeed  an  exhilarating  change  for  Mrs. 
Carlyle  from  the  city  house  in  a  block  to  the  pi- 
azza of  the  West  Point  Hotel.  She  took  a  long, 
luxurious  nap  in  her  room  after  dinner,  and  after- 
ward came  out  on  the  piazza  with  her  friends  and 
enjoyed  the  charm  of  hills  and  water  as  one  can 
only  after  a  monotonous  and  laborious  city  life. 

The  expression  of  her  face  as  she  sat  there  in 
silence,  her  hands  folded  in  her  lap,  touched  Miss 
Bagg  profoundly,  and  gave  her  one  of  the  deep 
thrills  of  gratitude  for  her  changed  fortune  which 
stirred  her  at  times  when  her  mone}r  wrought  a 
blessing  in  her  sight. 

"How  glad  I  am  to  have  you  here,  Cousin 
Mary,"  she  said  affectionately. 

"  It  is  a  great  gift,"  answered  the  other  with 
quiet  heartiness. 

44 1  am  sorry  you  could  not  have  been  present 
at  the  graduating  exercises,  Mrs.  Carlyle,"  added 
Bertha.  '4  It  was  very  interesting  to  see  each  man 
rise  to  receive  the  diploma  he  had  been  through 
so  much  to  gain.  When  the  first  name  was  called 
and  the  cadet  who  stood  highest  in  his  class  came 
forward,  what  a  proud  moment  it  must  have  been 
for  his  people !  The  Secretary  of  War  said  to  him : 
*  I  congratulate  you  less  upon  this  triumph  than 
upon  the  hard  work  you  have  been  able  to  do  to 
gain  it'  Oh,  I  thought,  if  I  could  live  to  see  my 


2G8  MISS  BAGG'S  SECEETAEY. 

brother  in  that  place,  hearing  such  words !  After 
General  Sherman  and  others  had  spoken,  the  grad- 
uates, looking  as  happy  as  was  consistent  with 
their  tremendous  dignity,  filed  out,  the  battalion 
formed,  and  marched  away  toward  barracks  headed 
by  the  band,  which  played  '  A  uld  Lang  Syne ' 
and  '  Good-bye,  Sweetheart.'  It  was  thrilling. 
Was  n't  it,  Olive  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  it  was,  but  go  on.  Bertha  has  n't 
reached  the  most  thrilling  part  to  her." 

Miss  Spencer  raised  her  dimpled  white  chin. 
"  Oh,  I  am  not  so  very  proud  of  it,"  she  declared. 

"  Her  brother,  during  the  ceremonies  that  fol- 
lowed, was  announced  to  be  adjutant,"  continued 
Olive. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  looked  very  benevolently  through 
her  spectacles,  but  took  this  news  calmly. 

Her  daughter  laughed.  "It  would  have  been 
all  the  same  to  mother  if  I  had  said  brigadier-gen- 
eral," she  remarked.  Then  she  continued  mis- 
chievously :  "  And  Bertha's  dearest  friend,  Mr. 
Hemenway,  was  created  a  captain." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  regarded  Bertha  pleasantly.  "  Cap- 
tain sounds  very  important,"  she  answered. 

"  You  must  n't  mind  anything  Olive  says,"  re- 
turned Miss  Spencer  calmly.  "  It  amuses  her  to 
teas"'-  me  about  Mr.  Hemenway,  but  I  am  twenty, 
and  scarcely  one  of  my  friends  in  Ralph's  class  is 
over  twenty-two.  Well,  anybody  knows  how  infi- 
nitely older  a  woman  of  twenty  is  than  a  man  of 
twenty-two." 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  269 

"  Oh,  that  goes  without  saying,"  observed  Miss 
Carlyle. 

"  Of  course,  for  chits  like  Olive,"  continued 
Miss  Spencer,  "  the  attentions  of  these  youths  may 
be  serious." 

Miss  Bagg  here  consulted  her  watch. 

"  It  is  time  for  us  to  be  thinking  about  parade,'* 
she  declared. 

Olive  laughed.  "  It  has  been  time  for  that  for 
Cousin  Lydia  all  the  afternoon,  I  am  sure.  I  will 
get  your  bonnet,  mother,  and  then  we  will  go  and 
let  Cousin  Lydia  show  you  her  toys.  You  never 
saw  a  child  like  to  play  soldiers  as  much  as  she 
does." 

"  I  like  to  go  in  time  to  get  the  seat  I  prefer," 
said  Miss  Bagg  seriously,  "  and  I  want  you  to  see 
the  whole  thing,  Cousin  Mary." 

As  the  quartette  sauntered  across  from  the  hotel, 
the  camp  looked  very  picturesque  with  its  per- 
fectly aligned  tents  facing  the  four  broad  company 
streets,  the  green  parade  ground  before  the  camp, 
and  the  whole  surrounded  by  embowering  elms. 

"  A  beautiful  playground,"  declared  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle, regarding  the  scene  with  interest. 

"  Yes,  and  look  behind  you,  mother,"  said  Olive. 
"  When  we  first  came,  all  the  evolutions  were  per- 
formed on  that  great  plain.  I  am  sorry  you  will 
see  nothing  there ;  but  now  the  graduates  are  gone 
and  one  class  is  away  on  furlough,  so  but  two 
classes  are  here  in  camp  until  the  new  fourth  class 
is  ready." 


270  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

They  passed  the  guard  tent,  and  Mrs.  Carlyle 
looked  curiously  at  a  cadet  sentinel  marching  up 
and  down. 

"  Why,  that  is  Mr.  Bradley,"  said  Olive  to  Ber- 
tha. "  I  never  dare  look  at  a  man  when  he  is  on 
duty  for  fear  I  shall  get  him  put  in  confinement 
for  something  or  other.  I  think  it  is  a  shame  for 
a  first-class  man  to  have  to  do  guard  duty." 

"So  it  is;  but  they  won't  have  to  after  the 
plebes  are  taken  into  the  battalion.  They  are  so 
short  of  men  now." 

"Rather  monotonous  business  for  the  young 
gentlemen,  I  suppose,"  remarked  Mrs.  Carlyle. 

"  It  is  all  monotonous  for  them,"  said  Bertha. 
"  Everything  that  looks  so  interesting  to  us  is  a 
hackneyed  story  to  them.  There  is  no  respite 
from  the  iron  rule  and  discipline  and  attention  to 
details  that  make  up  their  life.  Well,  yes,  there 
is  some  respite  to  my  class  this  summer,  I  admit. 
They  have  some  privileges  and  pleasure,  but  they  've 
a  hard  winter  before  them." 

"  You  identify  yourself  with  them,  do  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed.  I  entered  with  them.  I  was  a 
plebe  with  them  and  suffered  like  a  plebe,  and  I 
have  gone  right  on.  I  shall  graduate  next  June. 
Miss  Bagg  is  taking  a  great  deal  of  care  of  the 
candidates  that  have  been  examined  the  last  few 
days.  Her  heart  is  over  there  in  barracks  at  the 
present  moment,  although  you  would  n't  suspect  it." 

Miss  Lydia  sighed.  "Those  poor  boys!  Let 
us  not  think  about  them  now.  Sit  here,  Cousin 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  271 

Mary,"  —  indicating  one  of  the  front  row  of  seats 
facing  the  parade  ground. 

Spectators  in  twos  and  threes  began  approaching 
camp  from  all  directions.  Mrs.  Carlyle  observed 
a  cadet  in  a  plumed  hat  with  a  crimson  sash  across 
his  breast,  who  advanced  from  one  of  the  cleanly 
swept  company  streets. 

"  That  is  one  of  my  class,"  said  Bertha ;  "  Mr. 
Le  Roy." 

At  the  same  moment  the  sentinel  near  the  guard- 
tent  shouted :  — 

"  Turn  out,  the  guard.     The  officer  of  the  day." 

The  young  officer  saluted. 

"  Never  mind  the  guard,"  responded  the  sentinel. 

"  That  always  seems  so  needless,"  laughed 
Olive. 

"  Nothing  that  they  do  is  needless,"  said  Miss 
Bagg  seriously.  "  I  used  to  think  it  all  looked 
like  a  play,  but  Colonel  Mackenzie  has  made  me 
understand  that  it  is  all  business." 

The  young  officer  of  the  day  advanced  to  the 
sentinel,  who  immediately  saluted  his  superior,  and, 
the  plumed  cadet  speaking  to  him,  he  presented 
arms  as  he  replied. 

"  There,"  said  Bertha,  "  those  two  men  that  you 
see  are  both  first-class  men,  yet  one  must  be  so 
subordinate  to  the  other  simply  because  of  the  rel- 
ative position  they  hold  to-day.  If  that  sentry 
should  omit  one  respectful  detail  from  his  manner, 
it  would  be  Mr.  Le  Roy's  duty  to  report  him." 

"What   are   they  talking   about,  do  you  sup- 


272  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

pose  ?  "  inquired  Mrs.  Carlyle,  watching  the  two 
cadets. 

"  They  are  not  talking,"  replied  Miss  Spencer 
with  a  smile.  "  Mr.  Barlow  is  giving  Mr.  Le  Roy 
an  official  account  of  all  that  has  happened  to  him 
since  he  last  reported.  Oh,  it  is  all  business.  Mr. 
Barlow  is  thinking  that  it  is  high  time  for  a  man 
of  his  dignity  to  be  relieved  if  the  young  ladies  are 
beginning  to  gather  for  parade,  but  he  will  reserve 
his  complaints  for  an  unofficial  ear." 

Cadets  in  immaculately  fresh  duck  trousers  be- 
gan hastening  up  from  the  tents  and  along  the 
lines  of  seats  in  search  of  their  friends,  bearing 
about  them  the  refreshing  suggestion  of  frequent 
and  recent  "tubbing,"  which  inasmuch  as  it  is 
obvious  in  his  appearance  at  every  hour  of  the 
day,  distinguishes  the  West-Pointer  from  his  aver- 
age American  brother. 

Many  masculine  eyes  roved  toward  Bertha  and 
Olive,  but  one  of  the  girls  was  on  each  side  of  a 
strange  lady  in  spectacles,  and  seemed  engrossed 
with  her. 

"  What  pretty  uniforms  !  "  said  Mrs.  Carlyle. 
"  But  they  're  not  alike.  Some  have  gold  braid  on 
their  sleeves." 

"  Those  are  the  cadet  officers,"  explained  Olive. 
"  Those  stripes  are  of  far  higher  value  than  mere 
gold,  I  assure  you.  Cousin  Lydia  will  let  you  join 
her  in  her  study  of  chevrons.  She  learns  every 
morning  what  the  different  bars  mean,  and  forgets 
by  evening." 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  273 

"I  sha'n't  again,"  returned  Miss  Bagg  seri- 
ously, "  for  last  night  at  the  dance  Ralph  told  them 
to  me  once-  more  and  I  wrote  them  down." 

'"  Oh,  that  is  what  Ralph  and  you  were  about, 
sitting  off  in  a  corner,"  said  Bertha.  "  You  have 
to  thank  Mr.  Le  Roy  for  that.  He  persuaded 
Ralph  to  give  up  one  of  his  dances  with  me." 

"  I  like  Mr.  Le  Roy  very  much,  anyway,"  re- 
turned Lydia.  "  He  is  always  so  obliging  about 
telling  me  things." 

The  girls  exchanged  an  amused  glance.  They 
had  -observed  that  the  cadet-lieutenant  good-na- 
turedly told  Miss  Bagg  what  she  wished  to  hear. 
Lydia  was  so  evidently  inclined  to  idealize  the 
cadet's  life  that  Mr.  Le  Roy  did  not,  like  some  of 
the  others,  call  the  good  woman's  attention  to  its 
seamy  side,  but  romanced  a  little  when  such  a 
course  was  conducive  to  her  peace  of  mind. 

"  As  a  practical  housekeeper,"  observed  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  "  I  am  impressed  with  the  fact  that  all 
those  white  trousers  must  go  to  the  laundry." 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  answered  Miss  Bagg,  "  and  as  a 
cadet  must  always  be  spotless,  one  man  frequently 
wears  three  pairs  a  day." 

"How  many  do  they  have,  then,  for  pity's 
sake?" 

"Twenty,  thirty,  forty  pairs  apiece.  Yes,  in- 
deed," announced  Miss  Bagg  triumphantly,  as 
though  she  felt  the  fact  to  be  a  matter  of  personal 
pride. 

"Now  Cousin  Lydia  is  started  on  her  statis- 


274  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

tics,"  said  Olive.  "  She  has  them  at  her  fingers' 
ends." 

"  My  tongue's  end,  my  dear." 

"Miss  Bagg  is  delightful,"  declared  Bertha. 
"  She  is  penetrating  enough  to  appreciate  these 
youths.  The  only  trouble  is,  she  is  apt  to  permit 
them  to  see  that  she  approves  of  them,  and  that  I 
find  unwise.  It  is  n't  wholesome." 

"  Just  look  at  a  group  of  them  when  they  are 
laughing,  Mary,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  wholly  unmoved 
by  the  girls'  comments.  "  Their  teeth  are  so  fine. 
It  is  interesting  to  think  they  must  be  so  perfect 
physically  and  so  strong  mentally,  just  as  Mr. 
Van  Kirk  is,  you  know." 

"  That  is  it,"  remarked  Olive.  "  Cousin  Lydia 
considers  every  one  of  these  young  men  a  future 
Max  Van  Kirk.  Any  one  of  them  can  resign 
from  the  army  later  and  ask  her  for  a  position 
and  get  it.  Here  comes  one  of  the  perfect  beings 
now," — as  Mr.  Spencer  advanced,  the  unbroken 
crease  down  the  front  of  his  trousers  giving  ap- 
parent substantiality  to  the  rumor  that  the  man- 
ner of  assuming  these  immaculate  garments  is  to 
jump  into  them  from  a  table. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  looked  at  him  benignly  as  he  was 
introduced  to  her,  and  his  presence  seemed  to 
break  the  invisible  ice  which  had  protected  the 
party  from  its  usual  assault  of  admirers. 

Gray  coats  began  to  gather  about  Bertha  and 
Olive,  the  former  of  whom  had  already  gained  the 
reputation  of  being  the  most  popular  girl  at  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  275 

post.  A  number  of  names  were  repeated  to  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  a  number  of  dandified  and  scrupulously 
brushed  heads  were  bared  in  her  honor,  and  a  tor- 
rent of  light  chatter  and  laughter  began  to  flow. 
Mr.  Hemenway  was  late,  and  had  time  only  for 
a  word  with  Miss  Spencer  before  the  summons 
called  the  men  back  to  camp, 

Mrs.  Carlyle,  under  Miss  Bagg's  instruction, 
looked  down  the  clean-swept  streets  and  observed 
the  preparations  for  parade.  Hats  were  brushed, 
white  gloves  drawn  on.  Cadet  officers,  slipping 
one  end  of  their  long  crimson  sashes  over  a 
wooden  peg,  walked  to  the  full  length  of  the  soft 
silk,  and  then  gravely  began  turning  around  and 
around,  "winding  themselves  up,"  as  Miss  Lydia 
said,  until  the  requisite  length  was  left  to  tie  and 
fall  at  the  back  of  the  hip.  These  officers,  with 
their  dress  hats  adorned  with  tall  plumes  of  cock 
feathers,  their  snowy  breast-belts,  shining  buckles 
and  swords,  crimson  sashes,  and  rich  gold  chev- 
rons added  to  the  regular  white  and  bell-buttoned 
gray  of  the  cadet,  were  gorgeous  beings. 

The  rows  of  seats  were  now  filled  with  specta- 
tors. Carriages  which  had  brought  visitors  from 
a  distance  waited  along  the  avenues.  Men  in 
yachting  costume,  having  anchored  their  craft  in 
the  river  below,  were  present  with  their  parties. 
Evidently  Miss  Lydia  was  only  one  of  many  who 
were  alive  to  the  fascination  of  dress  parade  at 
West  Point. 

Mrs.    Carlyle   turned   around   to  look  at  the 


276  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

mountains  against  the  afternoon  sky.  The  silent 
beauty  of  their  ever-changing  lights  and  shadows 
was  something  she  could  not  turn  her  back  upon 
for  long  at  a  time. 

"  Here  comes  a  band,"  she  said,  "  and  a  very 
gay  one." 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  perfect  afternoon,  and  the  drum- 
major  has  on  his  go-to-meeting  hat,"  replied 
Bertha,  also  turning.  "  You  should  see  his  feath- 
ers when  the  weather  is  threatening.  They  look 
as  though  they  might  have  been  sent  as  a  delicate 
attention  from  Job's  turkey." 

The  companies  were  forming  in  the  four  streets 
of  camp,  and  cadet  officers  were  inspecting  the 
arms  of  their  men  to  see  if  a  speck  of  dust  or  rust 
on  a  rifle  bore  witness  to  its  owner's  carelessness. 
The  band  was  in  its  place.  An  artillery  officer 
in  full  dress,  whom  the  girls  recognized  as  Mr. 
Long,  took  his  position  near  them  with  his  back  to 
the  spectators,  and  folded  his  arms. 

"  It  is  the  first  time  he  has  received  the  parade," 
said  Bertha  with  interest.  "  There  comes  Ralph," 
—  as  the  adjutant  and  the  sergeant-major  left  the 
company  street  and  took  their  stand  in  front  of 
one  of  the  tents. 

Spencer,  looking  straight  before  him,  lifted  one 
white-gloved  hand.  The  bugles  in  response 
sounded  the  adjutant's  call,  then  the  band  broke 
into  an  inspiring  march.  The  cadets  emerged 
from  the  streets  and  ranged  themselves  in  line. 

The  drum-major  convoyed  his  gay  company  up 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  277 

and  down  the  green,  the  music  discoursing  in  lively 
fashion.  Returned  to  their  places,  the  bugles 
sounded  the  retreat,  the  sunset  gun  waked  the  ech- 
oes, and  far  across  the  plain  where  the  stars  and 
stripes  had  floated,  the  flag  was  lowered  as 
promptly  as  though  what  Bertha  gravely  stated 
was  indeed  the  case,  namely,  that  the  cannon-ball 
had  severed  the  rope. 

This  ceremony  over,  the  adjutant  gave  his  sev- 
eral orders  and,  advancing  up  the  path  with  the 
military  haste  which  appears  to  belong  to  his  of- 
fice,  saluted  the  officer  in  charge  with  his  bright 
sword. 

"Sir,  the  parade  is  formed,"  he  announced,  in 
the  strong  and  clear  voice  which  had  helped  to 
make  him  the  successful  candidate  for  his  impor- 
tant and  showy  position. 

"  Take  your  post,  sir,"  answered  the  officer ; 
then,  while  Spencer  continued  his  quick  march  up 
the  path  and  took  his  stand  facing  the  battalion, 
the  long  line  of  cadets  executed  the  manual  of 
arms  with  wonderful  precision  and  unanimity  of 
movement  in  response  to  Long's  orders. 

It  was  an  interesting  performance.  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle  watched  the  swift,  clicking,  kaleidoscopic 
changes  with  sufficiently  pleased  attention  to  suit 
even  Miss  Bagg. 

"  What  a  fine  training  !  "  she  said. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Lydia,  "  and  besides  all  this 
they  must  ride  and  dance  and  swim  and  fence  to 
perfection.  Then  you  should  hear  a  description  of 


278  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

their  studies.     It  makes  one's  head  ache  to   think 
of  what  those  poor  fellows  must  master." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  nodded.  "  It  behooves  us  to  re- 
sjxvt  an  army  officer,  doesjoH  it?  Tlicse  young 
men  are  n't  all  so  handsome  as  your  brother,  my 
dear,"  she  added,  turning  to  Bertha,  "  but  the 
plainest  of  them  look  distinguished  with  their 
clean-shaven  faces  and  fine  bearing.  There  goes 
Mr.  Spencer  back  again." 

The  adjutant  paused  midway  of  the  parade- 
ground  to  read  the  orders  to  the  now  motionless 
cadets.  In  the  midst  of  the  announcements,  given 
volubly  in  a  monotonous  tone,  Bertha  started. 

"  What  did  he  say  ?  "  she  exclaimed.  "  I  think 
he  said  Cadet  Hemenway,  officer  of  the  day." 

She  looked  in  resentful  dismay  at  the  young 
captain  standing  immobile,  with  drawn  sword,  in 
front  of  his  company.  "  I  was  going  with  him  to 
the  hop  to-morrow  night,"  she  added,  aggrieved. 

"  Too  bad,"  murmured  Olive.  "  Now  you  must 
notice  this,  mother ;  it  is  the  prettiest  part  of  pa- 
rade, I  think." 

The  adjutant  marched  down  the  path  until  di- 
rectly in  front  of  the  battalion  he  faced  about,  and 
the  other  cadet  officers  from  either  side  approached 
and  faced  in  line  with  him.  Their  gay  uniforms 
were  effective  thus  conjoined.  With  one  unani- 
mous movement  their  sword-points  rose  to  the 
scabbard,  then  exactly  simultaneously  fell  into  the 
sheaths. 
.  "Forward,  guide  centre,  march,"  ordered  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  279 

adjutant ;  the  line  swayed  forward,  and  as  the 
first  step  was  taken  the  music  again  burst  forth. 

The  officers  advanced  until  they  stood  before 
Lieutenant  Long.  Here  they  paused  suddenly. 
As  it  was  the  tactical  officer's  first  official  appear- 
ance, instead  of  the  usual  salute  the  cadets  re- 
moved their  plumed  hats  and  stood  a  moment  un- 
covered, until,  Long  acknowledging  the  courtesy, 
the  line  broke.  The  bayonets  of  the  four  com- 
panies were  soon  glittering  in  a  retreat  down  the 
streets,  and  the  cadet  officers  followed  them. 

"  Now  they  all  range  themselves  in  another  line 
at  the  back  of  camp,"  explained  Bertha,  "  and 
Ralph  will  read  the  delinquencies  for  the  last 
twenty-four  hours  out  of  what  they  call  the  '  skin- 
book.'  The  cadets  call  reports  '  skins.'  Well, 
was  n't  it  pretty  ?  Do  you  blame  Miss  Bagg  for 
liking  her  playthings  ?  " 

"  No,  indjeed.     It  is  very  entertaining." 

"  Now  I  want  you  to  see  the  other  end  of  this 
thing,  Cousin  Mary,"  said  Lydia  seriously. 

"  Yes,"  added  Olive,  smiling.  "  Cousin  Lydia 
has  a  painful  duty  to  perform  every  day  about  this 
time.  There  is  a  horrible  fascination  for  her  in 
the  experiences  of  those  poor  candidates.  Bertha 
and  I  will  go  to  the  hotel  and  wait  for  you." 

Miss  Bagg  and  her  friend  walked  across  the  cav- 
alry plain  in  the  direction  of  the  barracks.  There 
in  the  stone-paved  area  of  the  long  gray  building 
was  a  motley  gathering  of  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men,  all  at  present  on  a  dead  level  of  compan- 


280    '  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

ionship  in  the  misery  which  attends  the  aspirant  to 
admittance  at  the  National  Academy.  The  daily 
examinations  were  not  quite  finished,  yet  notwith- 
standing there  was  a  preliminary  course  of  training 
of  the  raw  recruits  going  on,  unpleasant  enough 
to  console  somewhat  those  whose  hopes  of  entering 
for  the  four  years'  campaign  would  shortly  be 
crushed. 

Miss  Bagg  led  her  companion  along  the  walk 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Academic  Building  to  a  po- 
sition where  they  could  see  the  columns  of  patiently 
marching  youths,  who  were  being  sharply  directed 
by  cadet  corporals  detailed  for  the  purpose  of  drill- 
ing them. 

There  were  the  sons  of  rich  men  and  the  sons  of 
poor  men  ;  the  boy  who  had  been  nurtured  in  the 
midst  of  symphony  concerts  and  Browning  clubs 
and  the  child  of  the  Texan  ranger ;  the  graduate 
of  an  important  university  and  the  young  man  who 
had  hungrily  picked  up  an  education  where  and 
how  he  could,  driving  a  horse-car  for  a  season  in 
order  to  pay  his  expenses  to  the  shrine  of  his  high 
hopes.  When  such  a  one  as  the  latter  specimen, 
after  stretching  every  nerve,  fails  of  admission  to 
the  academy,  it  furnishes  one  of  a  variety  of  lit- 
tle tragedies,  the  details  of  which  are  sufficiently 
touching,  and  happy  those  penniless  and  despair- 
ing victims  who  find  in  the  superintendent  of  the 
institution  a  friend  in  need.  The  recording  angel 
will  have  that  to  show  at  the  last  day  which  is 
perhaps  little  suspected  by  the  friends  of  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  281 

commander  under  whose  high  authority  this  par- 
ticular awkward  squad  was  pacing  the  old  flag- 
stones which  have  felt  the  pressure  of  so  many 
weary  feet. 

The  marchers,  despite  their  sober  faces,  pre- 
sented a  ludicrous  appearance.  Coats  manufac- 
tured by  the  most  shining  light  among  New  York 
tailors  presented  but  h'ttle  better  appearance  than 
the  home-made  article  of  the  far-westerner.  It 
might  have  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  the  owners 
of  celebrated  names  inside  those  collars  to  see  the 
utter  misfit  into  which  their  chefs  d'oeuvres  passed, 
owing  to  the  strained  and  unnatural  position  the 
wearers  were  compelled  to  adopt.  To  aid  this 
forcing  back  of  the  shoulders,  the  little  finger  of 
each  hand  was  pressed  to  the  seam  of  the  trousers, 
palms  turned  to  the  front  and  thumbs  out.  In 
this  posture  and  this  only  might  these  "  plebes " 
walk  for  the  next  three  months,  and  should  one 
forget  himself  for  a  moment  he  would  be  reminded 
of  the  omission  in  no  very  gentle  manner  by  some 
cadet  who  had  traveled  the  road  before  him. 

Back  and  forth,  back  and  forth,  trudged  the 
oddly  assorted  men  in  derby  hats,  straw  hats,  som- 
breros, all  shading  faces  of  varying  expressions  of 
earnestness  and  endurance,  led  on  by  the  sharp 
HHep  —  Hep"  of  the  stern  cadet  corporals,  who 
one  little  year  ago  had  stood  in  their  places,  but 
now  ruled  the  new-comers  with  a  rod  of  iron.  The 
sharp  notes  of  the  fife  and  the  roll  of  the  drum 
announced  that  the  cadets  were  marching  from 
camp  on  their  way  to  supper. 


282  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Miss  Bagg  led  her  friend  to  the  southern  cor- 
ner of  the  Academic  Building,  where  they  could 
look  through  to  the  street  and  see  the  well-drilled 
companies  pass  by.  When  the  last  row  of  gray 
blouses  had  wheeled  toward  Mess  Hall,  the  cor- 
porals in  the  barracks  area  began  marching  their 
charges  toward  the  same  haven.  The  fierce  tones 
in  which  some  of  these  yearlings  hurled  orders  at 
one  and  another  luckless  wight  whose  chin  or 
shoulders  aroused  their  displeasure,  and  the  scowl- 
ling,  savage  looks  with  which  they  pointed  their 
words,  strained  somewhat  Miss  Bagg's  utter  loy- 
alty to  the  wearers  of  the  gray. 

"  I  suppose  they  are  very  hungry  and  tired  them- 
selves, poor  things,"  she  murmured,  in  extenu- 
ation. 

Meanwhile  the  candidates  strode  by,  coats  Jiang- 
ing  loosely  over  their  shoulder  -  blades,  chins 
cramped  in,  thumbs  turned  out,  their  faces,  after 
the  difficult  examinations  of  the  day,  expressing 
variously  sullen  endurance,  fatigue,  determination, 
discouragement,  anxiety,  and  fear.  When  one 
hardy  or  jovial  or  over-tired  spirit  ventured  to 
smile,  how  quickly  a  vigilant  corporal,  in  his  own 
words,  "  jumped  on  him." 

An  angry  face  was  thrust  in  his.  "  Wipe  that 
smile  off  your  face  and  put  it  in  your  pocket, 
sir  !  W7iat  do  you  mean  by  smiling  in  ranks  ?  " 
etc.,  etc. 

The  culprit,  having  learned  that  questions  from 
corporals  were  not  intended  to  elicit  answers, 


OLD  AND  NEW  CADETS.  283 

maintained  a  crimson  silence,  and  the  "Hep  — 
Hep  "  proceeded. 

Miss  Bagg  and  her  friend  watched  the  passage 
of  the  martyrs. 

"  All  I  can  think  of,"  said  Mrs.  Carlyle,  "  is  a 
gang  of  prisoners  being  marched  off  to  Siberia. 
They  look  so  miserable.  No  wonder  that,  as  Miss 
Spencer  told  me,  the  cadets'  name  for  them  is 
« beasts.' " 

"  Mr.  Le  Roy  explained  to  me,"  said  Miss 
Bagg,  deprecatiugly,  "  that  that  was  a  sort  of 
pet  name." 

The  two  ladies  came  out  to  the  street  in  time 
to  see  the  last  of  the  tired  company  stumble  over 
their  own  feet  into  Mess  Hall.  The  corporals  re- 
mained outside,  and,  the  door  safely  closed,  they 
slapped  their  legs  and  doubled  up  with  infectious 
laughter,  which  suited  their  youthful  faces  much 
better  than  the  fierce  scowls  with  which  they  had 
performed  their  work. 

At  nineteen  or  twenty  the  risibles  are  easily 
moved,  and  even  though  the  yearling  at  the  Mili- 
tary Academy  be  deeply  impressed  with  all  he  has 
himself  endured  and  attained,  his  dignity  is  not 
always  proof  against  the  antics  of  the  "  cit  "  dur- 
ing the  latter's  initiation  into  his  new  life. 

"  Well,  it  is  a  toughening  process,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Carlyle,  as  the  two  spectators  turned  their 
faces  hotelward. 

"  Yes  ;  Mr.  Van  Kirk  went  through  it,"  an- 
swered Lydia.  "  What  man  hath  done,  man  can 


284  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

do."  She  needed  to  keep  her  courage  up,  for 
various  dark  and  disquieting  rumors  of  the  woes 
of  new  cadets  reached  her  ears,  and  sometimes  the 
memory  of  a  pale  face  haunted  her  after  she  had 
sought  her  pillow,  and  she  felt  moved  by  a  tender 
sympathy  which  doubtless  the  pale-faced  one's 
mother  would  have  thanked  her  for,  though  it  was 
not  likely  to  do  much  practical  good. 


CHAPTER  XVIH. 

THE   CONCERT   IN   CAMP. 

"  I  CAN'T  get  out  of  it,"  said  Hemenway  deject- 
edly. "  I  thought  at  first  I  might  make  an  ex- 
change, but  it  is  no  use." 

It  was  evening.  A  concert  was  in  progress  in 
camp.  Far  away  the  fireflies  hung  and  shimmered 
above  the  plain  as  though  they  might  have  fallen 
from  among  the  thick  stars  of  heaven.  The  tree- 
tops  waved  in  a  murmuring  breeze,  and  the  strings 
of  violin  and  'cello  gave  forth  the  soothing  strains 
of  Barnby's  "  Sweet  and  Low." 

Vague  gleams  of  white  showed  here  and  there 
in  the  dim  light,  revealing  the  whereabouts  of  a 
cadet  and  his  fair  companion. 

Bertha  and  her  escort  had  withdrawn  to  the 
outskirts  of  the  parade  ground,  where  Hemenway 
had  placed  seats  under  a  tree. 

"  Did  you  think  I  was  going  to  blame  you  for 
it?"  she  asked. 

"  I  thought  it  rather  more  than  likely,"  he  re- 
turned. 

Bertha  gave  a  mischievous  little  laugh.  "  Oh,  I 
am  not  so  unjust  as  that.  You  stood  there  looking 
so  stern  and  motionless,  listening  to  your  fate  — 
*  Officer  of  the  day,  Cadet  Henieuway ! ' 


286  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRET.il!  V. 

1  Yours  not  to  make  reply, 
Youra  not  to  question  why,' 

and  so  forth." 

"  I  should  think  not,"  remarked  her  companion. 
"  I  gave  up  questioning  why,  three  years  ago ;  but 
that  does  n't  alter  the  fact  that  you  are  going  away 
now  in  a  few  days,  and  that  after  to-morrow  even- 
ing perhaps  I  cannot  get  another  one  of  your  hops. 
Mentioning  the  Dutch  hotel  would  have  been  but 
a  slight  outlet  for  my  feelings  when  Ralph  fired 
that  off.  I  had  calculated  on  one  more  free  day." 

"  Be  calm,"  returned  Bertha  graciously.  "  I 
must  break  it  to  you  gently  that  we  are  not  going 
so  soon  as  I  expected,  on  account  of  Miss  Bagg's 
illness." 

In  Mr.  Hemenway's  countenance  satisfaction, 
surprise,  and  incredulity  were  about  equally 
blended.  He  had  seen  Miss  Bagg  and  Mrs. 
Carlyle  a  few  minutes  ago  on  one  of  the  iron  seats. 

Bertha  amused  herself  with  his  expression  a 
moment,  then  continued  :  "  Miss  Bagg  has  one  of 
the  severest  cases  of  cadet  fever  ever  known  at 
the  post." 

"  Good  for  Miss  Bagg !  "  exclaimed  Hemenway 
heartily. 

"If  you  were  gallant,  you  would  congratulate 
yourself." 

"  Oh,  it  is  the  best  thing  in  the  world  for  me,  of 
course,"  responded  the  young  man  hastily ;  "  and 
won't  you  say  you  are  a  little  glad,  too,  Miss 
Baby  ?  "  he  added  in  a  different  tone. 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  287 

"  If  you  call  me  by  that  name  I  shall  not  dis- 
close any  of  my  sentiments,"  she  answered  uncom- 
promisingly. 

"  You  don't  object  when  Ralph  uses  it." 

"  Of  course  not." 

"  I  fail  to  see  any  '  of  course  '  about  it." 

"  Why,  you  particularly  dull  young  person ! 
Is  that  possible?  Then  I  will  enlighten  you. 
I  adore  Ralph.  He  may  call  me  anything  he 
pleases." 

This  was  unanswerable.  Those  of  the  young 
captain's  company  who  considered  him  a  martinet 
would  doubtless  have  been  gratified  to  see  him 
now,  meekly  dumb  before  the  small  person  in 
white,  who  regarded  the  tips  of  her  red  shoes  de- 
murely. 

"  Ralph  is  getting  spoony  about  Miss  Carlyle," 
he  announced  at  length.  "  It  is  a  pity  you  should 
waste  your  adoration  on  him." 

"  How  well  he  has  chosen  his  confidant ! "  re- 
marked Miss  Spencer  severely. 

"  He  has  n't  confided  in  me.  I  see  it.  That  is 
all." 

Bertha  laughed  appreciatively.  "Oh,  you  are 
such  a  penetrating  man  !  " 

"  No,  I  'm  not,  and  I  know  it ;  but  I  have  a 
fellow-feeling  for  him,  confound  it !  " 

"  Well,  upon  my  word."  Miss  Spencer  raised 
her  eyebrows.  "  How  complimented  she  must  feel, 
whoever  she  is  !  " 

"  She  does  n't  care  whether  she  is  complimented 


288  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

or  not.    She  has  n't  any  feelings,"  was  the  pessimis- 
tic response. 

"  So  that  is  your  ideal,  is  it,  —  a  girl  without  any 
feelings.  Well,  you  have  odd  taste."  Then,  as  the  or- 
chestra began  another  number :  "  How  very  pretty 
that  dear  old '  Wert  thou  in  the  cauld  blast '  sounds. 
It  is  always  so  heartfelt  and  touching."  Here  the 
girl  began  to  sing  softly  with  the  plaintive  violins : 

"  '  My  plaidie  to  the  angry  airt, 
I  'd  shelter  thee,  I  'd  shelter  thee.' 

"  Oh,  if  anybody  sang  such  words  to  me  and  I 
had  n't  heard  them  murdered  a  hundred  times,  I 
should  say  "  — 

"What?" 

"  Why,  I  should  say,  '  You  may  shelter  me,  of 
course.  I  prefer  your  plaidie  to  anybody  else's.'  " 

"  I  can't  sing  —  I  can't  even  talk  —  when  I  want 
to,"  declared  Mr.  Hemenway  dejectedly. 

"  There  is  no  necessity  for  you  to  do  so,  you 
know,"  responded  Bertha  consolingly,  "  for  your 
ideal  has  n't  any  feelings,  and  such  fine  sentiment 
would  be  thrown  away  upon  her.  What  an  absurd 
thing  for  them  to  play,  anyway,  this  hot  night !  " 
she  added  hastily,  owing  to  certain  alarming  symp- 
toms of  returning  courage  in  her  companion. 
"The  thought  of  a  plaidie  is  insufferable.  I 
brought  my  fan  in  the  hope  of  raising  a  cauld 
blast  with  it.  Do  you  know,  you  nearly  ruined 
this  fan  at  the  last  german  ?  These  stiff  feathers 
were  all  in  little  wisps.  You  always  use  a  fan  as 
though  it  were  a  sabre,  any  way,  but  I  happened  to 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  289 

look  out  of  the  window  to-day,  and  I  saw  a  hen 
dressing  her  feathers.  She  drew  each  one  through 
her  beak,  you  know,  and  smoothed  it  all  out,  and 
I  suddenly  had  a  bright  thought,  and  ran  and  got 
my  fan  and  did  the  same  thing,  —  drew  each  feather 
between  my  lips,  this  way.  Don't  you  think  I  was 
clever  ?  You  can  feel  how  smooth  it  is." 

"  I  know  you  are  clever,"  returned  Hemenway, 
with  a  short  laugh. 

"  I  am  glad  you  appreciate  me.  Part  of  my 
cleverness  lies  in  the  fact  that  I  can  learn  some- 
thing of  everybody,  —  even  a  hen,  which  is  admit- 
tedly the  stupidest  creature  in  existence." 

"  Then  you  own  there  is  one  object  in  the  world 
stupider  than  I  am." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Hemenway,  —  the  august  Osborn! 
Number  one  in  his  class  all  last  year !  Published 
in  the  annals  of  the  Army  Register  as  a  star  cadet ! 
Asks  me  now  if  he  has  more  brains  than  a  hen  !  " 
Bertha  shook  her  head.  "  This  weak  hankering 
after  praise  pains  me  in  one  so  young." 

"  Say,  I  wish  you  would  stop  one  minute,  you 
know,"  protested  her  companion  plaintively. 

"  I  won't  say  another  word  all  the  evening,  if  yo\i 
wish  it.  Why,  excuse  me.  I  might  have  known 
you  wanted  to  enjoy  the  music ;  I  will  be  silent 
henceforth."  Miss  Spencer  turned  so  as  more 
nearly  to  face  the  knot  of  players  in  the  middle  of 
the  parade  ground. 

"  Miss  Bab  —  Bertha,"  —  Mr.  Hemenway  turned 
toward  her,  —  "  your  voice  is  all  the  music  I  want, 


290  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

and  you  know  it.  Tell  me,"  he  asked  tenderly, 
"  if  you  learn  something  of  everybody,  what  do  I 
teach  you  ?  " 

She  turned  her  head,  and  looked  into  the  eyes 
so  near  her. 

"  Patience,"  she  answered. 

The  prompt  reply  was  delivered  so  demurely, 
with  such  a  gentle  accent,  that  some  seconds  passed 
before  the  blood  crept  stingingly  into  the  young 
man's  ears. 

The  worm  will  turn,  likewise  the  individual  at 
the  other  extreme  of  the  scale  of  being,  —  the  cadet 
officer. 

Hemenway  made  some  exclamation,  and  a  soft 
laugh  rippled  from  his  companion's  lips. 

"  I  should  think  you  might  learn  patience,  if  it 
is  to  be  taught  by  example,"  he  retorted  at  last. 
"  Job  was  n't  a  circumstance  to  me  ;  but  it  is  over, 
—  you  can  jeer  at  somebody  else  after  this." 

"  Oh,  is  that  you,  Babe  ?  Say,  where  is  Miss 
Carlyle  ?  "  Mr.  Spencer  strode  out  of  the  shadows 
and  stood  before  them,  speaking  anxiously. 

"  You  ought  to  know,"  returned  his  sister. 

"  Well,  I  don't.     I  was  detained." 

"  Of  course.  What  a  lifetime  of  detentions  you 
have  endured.  Do  you  know  people  are  beginning 
to  ask  why  you  are  like  Mr.  Lenox  ?  " 

"  That  can  be  answered  briefly.  I  'm  not  like 
Lenox,"  returned  Mr.  Spencer,  not  relishing  com- 
parison with  his  predecessor  in  office. 

"  Yes,  you  are,  my  dear,  for  you  are  the  late  ad- 
jutant." 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  291 

"  Now,  don't  stop  to  get  off  grinds  on  me. 
Where  is  Miss  Carlyle  ?  " 

"  With  somebody  that  knows  how  to  take  care 
of  her,  I  hope.  She  is  not  alone,  you  may  be  sure, 
so  just  sit  down  here.  Mr.  Hemenway  is  unable 
to  stay  any  longer  and  I  need  you." 

"  Why,  yes  —  no  —  I  —  I  have  n't  the  least  in- 
tention of  going  away,"  stammered  that  gentle- 
man. 

"  Is  that  all  right,  Babe  ?  "  queried  her  brother, 
not  understanding,  but  yearning  to  be  off  and 
pour  forth  his  apologies  where  they  belonged. 

•'  Why,  yes,  if  Mr.  Hemenway  is  quite  sure 
what  he  wants  to  do.  This  whiffling  habit  of  mind 
is  very  deplorable." 

Bertha  half  repressed  another  laugh,  and  her 
brother  departed  hurriedly. 

"  Have  n't  you  been  absurdly  cross  ?  "  she  asked 
her  companion  coaxingly.  "  Here,  fan  me.  Now 
remember,  you  're  not  cutting  off  heads  in  the  rid- 
ing-hall. Deal  gently  with  my  plumage." 

Hemenway  took  the  fan  and  waved  it  in  silence. 

"Let  us  be  the  best  of  friends  to-night,"  she 
continued,  "  for  as  you  can't  take  me  to  the  hop 
to-morrow  night  you  may  as  well  make  a  complete 
thing  of  it  and  stay  away  from  me  all  day.  As  I 
am  to  remain  at  the  Point  so  much  longer,  there 
is  danger  of  our  growing  tired  of  one  another." 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Spencer  was  having  ill  success 
in  his  search  for  Olive.  The  latter,  expecting 
every  minute  that  he  would  come  for  her,  had  re- 


292  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

fused  to  allow  her  mother  and  Miss  Bagg  to  wait 
longer  with  her  on  the  hotel  piazza,  and  for  some 
time  after  they  had  sauntered  away  toward  ramp, 
Olive  remained  sitting  on  the  west  side  of  the 
house,  enjoying  the  distant  music  and  the  sugges- 
tive harmony  of  her  own  thoughts.  These  diu  not 
concern  her  expected  escort  to  the  concert,  nor  any 
other  of  the  young  men  who  had  entertained  her 
of  late  with  their  flattering  attentions. 

"  I  am  afraid  I  am  getting  into  a  habit  of  think- 
ing of  Max,"  she  admitted  to  herself. 

It  was  twilight.  The  sky  was  still  flushed  from 
the  sun's  descent,  and  the  mountains  loomed  darkly 
against  it.  The  fiery  color,  half- veiled  by  elm- 
branches,  shed  a  last  glow  upon  the  broad  river, 
and  the  dreamy  music  lent  enchantment  to  the 
scene.  Olive  was  tempted  on  to  self-communing. 

She  looked  back  to  the  days  after  Cousin  Jo- 
tham's  dinner,  when  she  found  it  so  amusing  to 
weave  romances  with  Max  for  the  central  charac- 
ter. Ida  at  that  time  had  served  as  good  a  purpose 
as  any  one  to  enact  the  role  of  heroine.  By  some 
subtle  change  of  sentiment  in  the  dreamer  of  these 
dreams,  Mrs.  Fuller  soon  ceased  to  fit  the  part. 
Of  course  Olive  did  not  care  whom  Mr.  Van  Kirk 
married,  so  long  as  his  choice  was  a  suitable  per- 
son ;  but  Ida  she  thought  snobbish  and  calculat- 
ing. The  widow  repelled  her.  She  regretted  to 
believe  that  Ida  was  Max's  fate. 

Then  came  a  time  when  she  began  to  resent  the 
fact  that  as  soon  as  she  was  alone  Max's  image 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  293 

should  obtrude  itself.    She  was  tired  of  considering 

O 

him  in  all  his  various  possibilities.  Then  she  came 
to  West  Point,  and  lo !  it  was  his  environment  that 
again  confronted  her.  The  barracks  rose  before 
her  as  a  place  where  Max  had  lived.  He  had  re- 
cited in  the  Academic  Building,  eaten  in  Mess 
Hall,  attended  concerts  at  the  Library. 

From  thinking  of  him  as  anybody's  hero,  he  had 
come  to  be  an  abstraction  so  far  as  women  were 
concerned.  Her  persistent  thoughts  wove  no  more 
romances.  The  other  day  at  the  review  his  recep« 
tion  of  her  mention  of  Ida  Fuller  had  given  her  a 
sudden  throb  of  triumph.  His  subsequent  re- 
mark had  caused  her  a  sudden  fear,  but  the  fear 
had  been  followed  by  a  reaction.  Ever  since  that 
afternoon,  there  had  been  cherished  in  a  secret 
warm  corner  of  Olive's  heart  the  suggestion  more 
of  Van  Kirk's  tone  than  of  his  words.  The  sweet- 
est hope  found  gradually  a  home  in  that  hidden 
nook.  Sometimes  Olive  felt  with  a  joyous  pang 
that  it  was  growing  ;  without  nurture,  without  en- 
couragement, she  felt  that  it  was  still  obstinately 
and  hardily  growing.  She  did  not  examine  it,  she 
looked  away.  That  was  not  difficult  to  do,  for 
she  was  scarcely  ever  alone ;  yet  with  whomsoever 
she  was,  whatever  words  her  lips  might  speak,  she 
was  conscious  always  of  this  "  still  thing  grow- 
ing," a  secret  source  of  unfailing  joy. 

She  grew  frightened  as  she  sat  here  now  so  long 
silent  in  the  gathering  shadows.  The  little  hope 
was  importunate  of  her  attention,  and  its  pulsing 
life  set  her  whole  heart  to  beating. 


294  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  wish  Mr.  Spencer  would  come,"  she  mur- 
mured, and  starting  up  she  walked  aimlessly  to  the 
corner  of  the  house  and  around  toward  the  door. 
A  man  was  quickly  ascending  the  steps.  Sure 
that  it  was  the  delinquent,  she  hurried  forward, 
and  in  an  instant  confronted — not  cadet-gray,  but 
tweeds. 

A  hand  seized  hers.     "  Olive." 

"Max." 

They  said  no  more  for  a  half  a  minute,  and  their 
hands  clung  together. 

"  Has  my  luck  changed,  I  wonder  ?  "  he  said  at 
length. 

Miss  Carlyle's  breath  came  quick.  She  was 
afraid  to  speak. 

"  To  come  upon  you  in  this  way,"  he  continued. 
"  Are  you  alone  ?  What  does  it  mean  ?  " 

"  It  means  that  my  people  left  me  a  little  while 
ago  expecting  that  Mr.  Spencer  would  be  here  at 
once  to  take  me  to  the  concert,"  answered  Olive, 
recovering  her  senses  sufficiently  to  withdraw  her 
hand  and  speak  conventionally.  "  I  can't  think 
what  has  happened  to  him." 

"  Some  little  obstacle  in  the  way  of  confinement, 
perhaps.  At  all  events,  I  am  as  grateful  to  him 
as  though  he  had  purposely  absented  himself.  I 
saw  there  was  a  concert  in  progress,  but  thought 
I  would  just  take  a  look  on  the  piazzas  first.  Seri- 
ously, Olive,  to  find  you  here  is  the  first  gift  for- 
tune has  bestowed  upon  me  in  many  moons.  May 
I  take  you  over  to  the  camp  ?  " 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  295 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  need  n't  wait  any  longer,"  an- 
swered Miss  Carlyle,  and  from  her  tone  no  one 
could  have  guessed  how  the  growing  hope  was 
singing. 

They  went  down  the  steps  together,  and  thus  it 
happened  that  when  Mr.  Spencer  raced  madly  up 
the  same  steps  five  minutes  later,  no  one  about  the 
hotel  was  able  to  produce  Miss  Carlyle. 

His  unavoidable  detention  this  time  had  been 
the  combination  of  a  tea  and  a  new  girl  with  a 
vivacious  tongue,  whose  white  hand  was  very  fami- 
liar with  the  strings  of  a  banjo.  These  had  be- 
guiled him  beyond  the  intended  hour,  and  his 
conscious  guilt,  added  to  his  admiration  for  Miss 
Carlyle,  made  him  extremely  warm  in  mind  and 
body  when  it  was  proved  that  he  must  extend  his 
quest  into  camp. 

He  did  not  find  her  there,  either,  for  Olive  and 
Van  Kirk  were  wandering  to  and  fro  in  the  deep 
shadow  of  spreading  trees  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  groups  of  listeners. 

The  orchestra  was  now  performing  bits  from 
Wagner  and  introducing  convenient  cadences,  of 
which  it  is  to  be  hoped,  in  the  interests  of  the  im- 
perial composer's  eternal  happiness,  that  he  was 
unaware ;  but  the  music  gave  Miss  Carlyle  and 
her  companion  an  excuse  for  silence,  which  they 
maintained  for  some  minutes. 

At  last  Max  spoke.  "  Why  don't  you  ask  me 
why  I  am  up  here  so  soon  again  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  need  that  you  should  give  any  reason." 


296  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  saw  that  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  wait  till 
you  sent  for  me.  I  knew  you  were  surrounded  by 
bell-buttons  and  had  an  embarrassment  of  riches 
in  the  way  of  attention." 

Olive  smiled.  "  You  saw  that  just  now,  I  am 
sure." 

"  Oh,  well,  that  was  a  slip  of  some  kind  for  my 
especial  benefit.  I  suppose  it  was  rather  presum- 
ing in  me  to  assume  charge  of  you  and  carry  you 
off,  but  there  will  be  other  evenings  for  Spencer, 
and  perhaps  no  others  for  me." 

"  I  find  you  rather  mysterious  to-night,  Mr.  Van 
Kirk.  In  fact  you  are  something  of  an  enigma  to 
me  anyway.  Why  are  n't  you  a  happier  man  ?  " 

"  So  I  have  been  wearing  my  heart  on  my 
sleeve,  have  I  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  think,"  continued  Olive,  "  that  you 
were  going  to  take  events  so  hard.  You  seemed 
jolly  enough  over  it  all  at  first.  But  now  every 
little  while  I  catch  a  glimpse  of  your  discontent. 
Do  you  wish  you  were  back  in  the  army  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  Do  you  wish  you  were  a  millionaire  ?  " 

"  No,  with  a  very  large  N." 

"  Dear  me.  He  eVen  despises  money,"  said  the 
girl,  softly  smiling. 

"  There  is  just  one  thing  in  the  world  that  I 
want,  Olive,"  continued  Van  Kirk  slowly  and 
thoughtfully,  "  and  that  a  woman  can  give  me." 

The  speaker  felt  the  faintest  flutter  of  the  hand 
resting  on  his  arm,  but  received  no  answer. 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  297 

"  If  I  do  not  get  it "  —  a  pause  —  "  life  will 
not  be  worth  living." 

His  words  thrilled  his  companion  from  head  to 
foot.  The  radiant  hope  was  singing  so  loudly  in 
her  ears  that  the  other  music  seemed  far  away. 
For  the  first  time  she  turned  herself  fully  and 
blissfully  to  meet  life's  gracious  possibilities  face 
to  face.  Her  eyes  filled  with  light  and  her  heart 
with  the  might  of  her  joy. 

She  dared  not  speak  —  yet ;  neither  did  she  wish 
to  do  so.  With  her  hero  beside  her  in  the  sol- 
emn, beautiful  night,  she  would  not  hasten  the  cli- 
max of  that  supreme  moment  which  should  launch 
them  both  into  eternity  of  happiness.  Like  one 
in  a  dream,  she  leaned  lightly  on  his  arm  as  they 
slowly  passed  on.  The  moment,  so  joyfully  long 
to  her  in  its  wealth  of  experience,  passed.  Van 
Kirk  spoke  again  :  — 

"  I  have  written  to  this  woman,"  he  said. 
"  Very  soon  I  shall  know  the  worst  —  or  the  best. 
I  simply  could  n't  stand  the  waiting  down  there 
alone.  I  never  had  a  sister,  Olive.  It  is  so 
strangely  sweet  to  speak  to  a  woman,  tender- 
hearted, honest,  who  has  a  kindly  feeling  for  me 
and  will  be  lenient  to  my  egotism.  I  did  n't  real- 
ize you  were  a  woman,  upon  my  word,  until  that 
last  evening  in  New  York,  when  you  spoke  your 
mind  to  me  concerning  the  picture.  I  never  real- 
ized before  how  tall  you  were,  how  altogether  im- 
pressive." 

He  waited  a  moment  for  a  response ;  then  he 


298  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

felt  suddenly  that  his  companion  was  shaking  with 
laughter. 

"  It  was  comical,"  he  continued.  "  You  nearly 
took  my  breath  away." 

Still  Olive  laughed.  Max  thought  it  a  little 
strange  that  she  should  be  so  amused,  but  he 
smiled  in  sympathy. 

"  It  does  seem  so  absurd  as  I  look  back  upon  it 
to  think  I  should  have  been  so  vexed,"  she  said 
at  last,  shivering,  and  quickly  wiping  her  eyes. 
"  It  is  odd  that  such  a  childish  performance  should 
have  impressed  you  with  a  sense  of  my  dignity. 
Do  you  know,  I  am  being  guilty  of  a  bit  of 
thoughtlessness  now,"  she  added,  as  seriously  as 
her  short  breath  would  permit.  "  If  Mr.  Spencer 
is  searching  for  me,  he  has  probably  found  mother 
and  succeeded  in  frightening  her  completely.  Let 
us  go  and  explain  my  non-appearance.  She  is 
somewhere  over  there  on  one  of  those  seats." 

"  I  see,"  replied  Van  Kirk  resignedly,  "  you  are 
weary  of  the  society  of  a  *  cit '  who  talks  about  his 
own  woes,  when  you  might  have  the  company  of 
one  of  these  light  hearted  and  headed  cadets." 

They  turned  and  moved  toward  the  auditors. 

"  Cadets  are  charming,"  declared  Olive,  "  and 
no  more  light-headed  than  the  rest  of  us ;  besides, 
I  like  light-headed  people.  I  'm  not  ready  for  the 
serious  side  of  life.  Hear  that  wind  in  the  trees," 
she  added,  as  the  music  ceased.  "  I  always  like 
that  murmur.  Don't  you  ?  " 

"Yes.     Many  a  night,  when  I  have  been  on 


THE  CONGEST  IN  CAMP.  299 

guard  yonder  by  Fort  Clinton,  it  has  made  the 
time  seem  less  weary,"  replied  her  companion. 

"And  I  dare  say  you  used  to  compose  sonnets 
by  the  half-dozen.  Did  n't  you,  now  ?  " 

"  I  never  was  much  given  to  rhymes.  How  you 
hurry,  Olive  !  "  . 

44  Conscience  is  driving  me." 

44  Oh,  Cousin  Mary  is  n't  so  nervous  as  all  that." 

44  Yes,  she  is.  If  Mr.  Spencer  tells  her  I  am 
not  at  the  hotel,  she  will  imagine  I  have  drowned 
myself.*  What  an  attractive  place  to  drown  one's 
self,  by  the  way !  So  clean  and  picturesque ! 
The  only  trouble  would  be  to  choose  the  prettiest 
of  the  hundreds  of  eligible  spots  from  which  to 
take  a  lover's  leap." 

44  Wait  for  the  lover  before  you  talk  about 
that." 

44  How  do  you  know  I  have  n't  one,  pray  ?  " 

"  I  —  well,  I  don't  know,  of  course." 

**  I  should  say  you  could  scarcely  be  sure." 

Olive  laughed  as  she  talked  in  a  way  not  usual 
with  her,  —  rather  a  silly  way  Max  would  have 
thought  it  in  another  woman. 

44  When  the  man  appears,"  he  said  seriously, 
*'  whom  you  care  for,  Olive,  the  only  lover's  leap 
you  need  take  will  be  straight  into  his  arms,  for 
he  will  be  the  happiest  man  on  earth." 

He  felt  her  hand  tighten  on  his  arm. 

44  Very  neatly  said,  Mr.  Van  Kirk,"  she  replied 
saucily,  44  but  a  trifle  exaggerated.  How  can  the 
great  unknown  be  happier  than  you  will  be  when 


300  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

that  mysterious  being  gives  you  the  one  thing  you 
crave  on  earth  ?  "  The  soft  laughter  rippled  forth 
again,  and  Van  Kirk  look  graver  then  before. 

"  You  give  me  a  salutary  lesson,  Olive,"  he  said 
shortly.  "  I  had  no  right  to  bore  you." 

They  had  now  reached  the  rows  of  seats,  and 
Miss  Carlyle's  eager  eyes  quickly  sought  out  the 
white  zephyr  covering  she  had  seen  her  mother 
throw  over  her  hair  as  she  left  the  hotel.  Drop- 
ping Van  Kirk's  arm  and  taking  a  hasty  step  for- 
ward, she  flung  her  arms  about  her  mother's  neck 
and  clasped  her  hands  together. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  started,  and  looked  around  as  well 
as  she  could  in  the  rigid  embrace.  "  Olive,  child, 
there  you  are  at  last.  I  was  just  wondering  if  I 
ought  to  go  in  search  of  you.  Mr.  Spencer  was 
here  a  minute  ago  in  a  great  state  of  mind." 

"  Yes,  we  missed  each  other.  Max  is  here. 
He  brought  me." 

Miss  Bagg  turned  alertly  and,  reaching  out  her 
hand,  welcomed  the  new  arrival  warmly. 

"  You  will  have  to  come  around  here  to  shake 
hands  with  me,  Max,"  said  Mrs.  Carlyle.  "  Olive 
has  me  in  a  vise." 

"  A  lovely  vise,"  returned  Van  Kirk,  coming 
obediently  around  the  end  of  the  seat  and  taking 
the  offered  hand.  "You  see  I  have  defrauded 
Olive  of  the  society  of  one  of  her  admirers  to- 
night, and  so  I  am  bound  to  throw  in  a  compli- 
ment wherever  I  see  the  opportunity,  even  if  it 
leads  me  into  paradox.  The  bad  penny  soon  re« 
turns,  you  see,  Miss  Bagg." 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  301 

"  I  sha'n't  like  it  at  all  if  you  don't  come  often," 
returned  Lydia.  "  We  have  been  having  such  a 
good  time,  —  all  except  the  candidates." 

Then  she  went  on  to  rehearse  to  Max  all  she 
had  seen  and  heard,  while  Olive,  thankful  for  her 
volubility,  clung  to  her  mother  as  to  an  anchor  of 
safety.  Her  heart  ached  so  heavily  from  the 
leaden  weight  of  that  mute,  slain  hope,  which  in  its 
vigor  had  made  her  whole  being  light  and  joyous. 

Mr.  Spencer  came  charging  back  up  the  path, 
still  on  his  frantic  quest.  He  paused  with  a  jerk 
as  he  was  passing  her. 

"  Miss  Carlyle !  "  he  exclaimed,  and  lifted  his 
cap. 

She  stemmed  the  tide  of  glib  explanation  and 
apology  into  which  he  immediately  plunged. 

"  Don't  say  another  word,"  she  interrupted 
sweetly.  "  I  feel  that  I  owe  you  quite  as  much  of 
an  apology  as  you  do  me.  My  cousin  arrived 
from  New  York,  and  I,  seeing  that  you  were  de- 
tained, came  over  here  with  him,  not  realizing  how 
much  annoyance  I  might  cause  you  by  not  giving 
you  a  few  minutes'  more  grace." 

"Well,  by  George!  she  is  the  sweetest  girl  I 
ever  saw  in  my  life !  "  thought  the  much  agitated 
adjutant,  with  a  glow  of  gratitude  such  as  young 
women  might  elicit  much  oftener  than  they  do,  if 
they  would  take  the  sensitiveness  out  of  their  self- 
love. 

Miss  Carlyle  was  not  deserving  of  credit  in  the 
present  instance.  If  Ralph  Spencer  had  but 


302  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

known  it,  while  she  was  smiling  upon  him  so  gra- 
ciously he  seemed  to  her  to  be  but  the  moving 
figure  in  a  dream.  His  offense  appealed  to  her 
consciousness  no  more  than  would  a  pin-prick  to 
the  man  who  had  just  received  a  mortal  wound. 

He  remained  beside  her  after  greeting  Van 
Kirk. 

"  You  won't  find  me  very  talkative,  I  am 
afraid,"  she  said  after  a  minute.  "  Your  music  is 
so  good  here,  and  even  if  it  were  much  less  so,  the 
surroundings  idealize  it.  I  like  to  listen." 

"  Olive,  you  are  cold,"  declared  her  mother, 
upon  whose  breast  the  girl's  hands  were  still  tightly 
clasped.  "  I  distinctly  felt  you  shiver.  I  told  you, 
dear,  that  cobweb  dress  was  not  enough.  Night 
air  is  night  air,  even  in  June.  I  want  you  to 
come  back  with  me  to  the  hotel,"  she  added,  in  the 
coaxing  tone  of  a  parent  who  expects  a  parley. 

Miss  Carlyle  looked  up  at  the  adjutant.  "  Do 
you  always  mind  your  mother,  Mr.  Spencer  ?  "  she 
asked. 

"  I  have  n't  had  a  chance  for  a  good  while,  you 
know.  This  stepmother  of  mine  —  it  is  the  grim- 
mest sarcasm  to  call  her  Alma  Mater  —  has  about 
absorbed  my  capacity  for  obeying  for  a  few 
years." 

"She  will  be  minded,  will  she?"  asked  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  endeavoring  to  unlock  Olive's  cold  hands. 
"  What  does  she  do,  if  you  rebel  ?  Tell  me,  so  I 
can  try  it  with  my  daughter." 

"  Puts  us  in  '  con,'  usually,"  laughed  Spencer. 


THE  CONCERT  IN  CAMP.  303 

I 
"  That  is  confinement,  mother,"  explained  Olive. 

"  Well,  I  will  adopt  the  idea  right  away.  Your 
hands  feel  as  though  it  were  January." 

"  Won't  it  do  to  get  a  wrap,  or  something  ?  " 
suggested  Ralph. 

"  No,"  replied  Mrs.  Carlyle  decidedly.  "  I  pre- 
fer to  have  her  go  in,  and  I  hope  she  will  learn 
wisdom  by  experience." 

"  Well,  good-night,  then,  Max,"  said  Olive,  "  the 
fiat  has  gone  forth.  You  will  take  care  of  Cousin 
Lyclia." 

Ralph  Spencer  accompanied  the  ladies  up  to  the 
hotel,  followed  by  the  strains  of  the  Lorelei. 

' '  Ich  weiss  nicht  was  soil  es  bedeuten 
Das  ich  so  traurig  bin." 

"  It  occurs  to  me  that  your  cousin  must  have  en- 
dured some  punning  on  his  name  when  he  was  a 
cadet,"  said  Spencer,  as  they  walked  on.  " '  Max ' 
means  with  us  a  successful  recitation  or  perform- 
ance of  any  kind." 

"  Well,  that  was  a  suitable  name  for  him,  I 
imagine,"  replied  Olive.  "  I  believe  that  he  stood 
very  well  in  his  class." 

"  When  do  those  strange  boys,  the  new-comers, 
join  the  cadets  in  camp  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Carlyle. 

"In  a  short  time,  a  week,  perhaps,"  replied 
Spencer.  "  I  believe  the  examinations  ended  to- 
day. The  sooner  they  come  the  better  for  us ;  for 
our  limits  have  been  changed  for  their  accommoda- 
tion. We  are  not  allowed  to  walk  over  there  while 
they  are  in  barracks." 


304  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"Why?" 

"  Oh,  we  might  molest  them,"  replied  the  young 
fellow,  smiling.  "  Of  course  we  should  n't,  you 
know,  but  we  might." 

"  Is  there  hazing  here  ?  " 

"  Your  voice  sounds  horrified,  Mrs.  Carlyle. 
How  glad  I  am  to  belong  to  the  graduating  class. 
The  giddy  yearlings  do  most  of  whatever  hazing 
is  done.  That  sort  of  thing  is  leagues  below  the 
dignity  of  a  first-class  man,  you  know." 

"  I  should  hope  so,  indeed.  Such  cowardly 
business !  " 

They  had  reached  the  hedge,  and  Olive  gave 
the  cadet  her  hand,  which  he  clasped  cordially. 
"  May  I  try  once  more,  Miss  Carlyle  ?  "  he  said. 
"  On  Thursday  evening  there  will  be  a  concert  on 
the  plain  in  front  of  the  superintendent's.  May  I 
see  if  I  can  redeem  my  character  for  punctual- 
ity?" 

"  Certainly,"  replied  Olive.  "  I  shall  be  pleased. 
Good-night." 

She  went  into  the  house  with  her  mother. 

"  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  good  rubbing,"  said 
the  latter,  when  they  had  reached  their  room. 

"  Indeed,  I  don't  need  it,  dear,"  the  girl  an- 
swered. "  I  shall  be  quite  warm  now ;  but  I  am 
tired.  This  life  in  the  outdoor  air  makes  one 
sleepy ;  don't  you  think  so  ?  " 

She  was  soon  in  bed,  and  seemed  to  fall  asleep 
immediately.  Her  mother  also  retired,  in  order 
that  the  light  might  not  disturb  Olive.  She  had 


TI1E  CONCERT  IN  CAMP. 

not  been  long  in  bed  when  she  felt  the  girl  trem- 
ble. 

"I  thought  you  were  asleep,  dear,"  she  said. 
"  What  amuses  you  so  ?  " 

"  Nothing  much.     I  '11  be  asleep  in  a  minute." 

The  response,  although  very  faintly  given,  be- 
trayed that  it  was  choked  with  repressed  tears. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  suffered  a  shock  of  anxiety.  Her 
mind  instantly  became  alert.  Olive  had  some 
trouble,  and  it  was  the  first  she  had  ever  concealed 
from  her  mother.  How  the  latter  longed  to  turn 
and  take  that  quiet  form  in  her  arms !  but  she 
controlled  herself.  She  studied  upon  what  could 
have  occurred  since  she  last  saw  Olive  in  her  nat- 
ural good  spirits.  Could  it  have  been  that  the 
child  felt  deeply  mortified  by  Ralph  Spencer's 
delinquency  ?  Impossible.  Olive  was  too  frank 
and  sensible  to  brood  over  such  a  trifle.  Then  it 
was  Max. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  knit  her  brows  there  in  the  dark- 
ness, in  the  effort  to  think  it  all  out  and  to  com- 
prehend what  she  could  not  know.  She  searched 
the  past  to  find  out  how  Olive  regarded  Van  Kirk. 
She  recalled  the  triumphant  tone  in  which  the  girl 
had  declared  her  belief  that  he  cared  nothing  for 
Ida  Fuller. 

"  Does  she  love  him,  and  has  he  told  her  to-night 
something  that  crushes  her  ? "  wondered  the  mo- 
ther, her  heart  wrung  by  the  faint  sound  of  quickly- 
caught  breath  on  the  other  pillow.  She  remem- 
bered the  cold  hands  that  had  clasped  her  so 


306  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

desperately,  the  shivering  figure  that  had  nestled 
close  to  her,  there  in  cainp,  and  a  fervent  prayer 
rose  from  the  depths  of  her  heart  for  help  to  bear 
this  new  and  great  trouble,  —  the  secret  grief  of 
her  child. 

All  at  once  a  long-pent  sob  went  shuddering 
through  the  form  beside  her.  Mrs.  Carlyle  could 
refrain  no  longer.  She  turned,  and  gently  took 
her  daughter  in  her  arms. 

At  her  touch  Olive's  repressed  tears  gushed 
forth.  She  threw  her  arm  around  her  mother's 
neck. 

"  Don't  —  don't  —  ask  me,"  she  sobbed. 

"  Not  one  word,  my  sweet  one ;  only  let  me  be 
near  you."  She  took  the  little  cold  hand  and 
warmed  it  at  her  own  lips.  She  smoothed  the 
girl's  hair,  and  finally  the  sobbing  lessened.  The 
patient  hand  continued  the  soothing  strokes,  until 
at  last  the  nervous  breathing  became  even  and 
Olive  slept. 

But  the  mother  waked  all  the  night  and  pon- 
dered. The  reveille  gun  crashed  through  the 
still,  rain-wet  morning,  and  she  raised  herself  and 
gazed  into  her  child's  face.  Its  beauty  smote  her 
with  a  sense  of  pathos. 

"  There  is  only  weakness  where  I  should  have 
strength  to  bear  your  sorrows,  my  darling,"  she 
thought,  and  dried  the  tears  that  blurred  her 
yearning  gaze.  "  Oh,  my  little  lamb,  if  the  Lord 
loves  you  better  than  I  do,  we  must  not  be  anx- 
ious." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

MR.    VAN   KIRK   UNBURDENS   HIMSELF. 

IT  is  to  be  feared  that  Miss  Bagg's  secretary  did 
not  hear  every  word  of  her  descriptions  after  Olive 
said  good-night. 

His  mind  kept  straying  with  a  sense  of  humili- 
ation. Olive  had  evidently  felt  the  ignorant  con- 
tempt of  a  heart-whole,  inexperienced  girl  for  his 
darkly  hinted  trouble.  Youth  is  often  cruel,  and 
Van  Kirk  not  only  felt  that  Miss  Carlyle  had  been 
cruel,  but  regretted  sorely  that  he  had  given  her 
the  opportunity  to  show  her  indifference. 

Her  reception  of  him  had  at  first  been  so  unmis- 
takably cordial.  In  his  excitement  and  anxiety, 
was  it  any  wonder  that  he  had  sought  consolation 
from  her  warm,  sweet  womanliness  ?  Surely  their 
intimacy,  even  though  it  had  come  to  exist  only  at 
spasmodic  intervals  of  years,  warranted  so  much. 

It  does  not  appear  precisely  why  Mr.  Van  Kirk 
should  have  found  justification  for  his  confidences 
in  the  fact  that  he  could  remember  himself  a  boy 
of  seven,  feeling  rather  sheepish  because  Olive,  in 
a  soft,  white  dress  and  unsteady  kid  shoes,  en- 
joyed clinging  to  his  finger  during  her  first  labo- 
rious and  eventful  promenades  around  the  room ; 


308  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

but  the  fact  remains  that,  in  the  light  of  that  mem- 
ory, the  later  memory  of  her  ironical  laughter  ap- 
peared to  him  now  as  especially  ungrateful. 

He  came  to  himself  because  Miss  Bagg's  flow 
of  words  suddenly  stopped,  and  some  vague  echo 
seemed  to  tell  him  that  his  companion  had  ap- 
pealed to  him  to  know  if  something  was  not  awful. 

"  Was  it  ?     Well  —  a  "  - 

"  Why,  I  tell  you,  the  poor  fellow  had  scarcely 
anything  on,"  said  Lydia  earnestly.  "  He  had 
gone  to  bed,  and  they  kept  him  up  in  that  tree  all 
night,  just  because  his  father  was  a  general  in  the 
army  and  they  thought  he  might  feel  a  little  con- 
ceited about  it.  I  think  such  hazing  is  criminal. 
If  I  supposed  any  such  thing  would  be  done  to  any 
of  these  new  plebes,  I  would  "  —  She  paused,  to 
think  of  some  sufficiently  severe  threat. 

"  I  hope  you  are  n't  going  to  say  that  you  would 
order  ine  to  sleep  in  camp  that  I  might  watch,  for 
I  do  not  believe  they  would  let  me." 

"  These  cadets  whom  I  know  must  be  entirely 
different  from  the  class  who  could  do  such  things 
as  that,"  said  Lydia  earnestly,  "  but  there  may  be 
a  few  such  spirits  among  them." 

"  It  is  barely  possible." 

"You  are  smiling,  Mr.  Van  Kirk.  Don't  tell 
me  that  you  think  the  subject  is  amusing.  Now, 
don't." 

"  I  was  n't  going  to,  Miss  Bagg.  So  your  visit 
continues  to  prove  a  success,  does  it?  Are  you 
glad  you  brought  Olive  Carlyle  ?  " 


MR.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    309 

"  Indeed  I  am.  She  is  just  the  person  to  come 
here,  and  I  enjoy  seeing  her  receive  so  much  no- 
tice." 

"  Don't  you  think  it  may  be  turning  her  head  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  Olive's  head  is  n't  that  kind,"  re- 
plied Miss  Lydia  decidedly.  "She  treats  them 
all  beautifully,  and  is  just  her  even  self  all  the 
time,  only  brighter,  —  ever  so  much  happier  than 
I  ever  knew  her  before.  She  is  a  butterfly  revel- 
ing in  the  summer." 

"  Only,  wiser  than  the  butterfly,  she  knows  that 
the  winter  will  come,"  remarked  Max. 

"  Yes,  she  says  she  is  storing  up  sunshine  against 
the  winter." 

"Many  a  girl  has  found  her  fate  here,"  said 
Van  Kirk.  "  Does  Olive  particularly  favor  any 
of  her  admirers  ?  " 

"  I  can  hardly  say  that.  She  is  more  with 
Ralph  Spencer,  perhaps,  than  any  one ;  and  I 
don't  wonder.  He  is  certainly  one  of  the  pleas- 
antest  objects  to  look  upon  that  I  ever  saw,  and 
his  manner  is  charming,  —  unusually  so.  Yes,  if 
I  were  eighteen,  I  am  free  to  confess  that  I  would 
not  take  '  no '  for  an  answer  from  Ralph  Spen- 
cer." Miss  Bagg  smiled  placidly  from  the  van- 
tage-ground of  her  fifty  years. 

"Adjutants  are  usually  a  set  of  jackanapes," 
responded  Van  Kirk,  so  curtly  that  Lydia  looked 
at  him  in  surprise.  It  was  most  unusual  for  her 
secretary  to  use  such  a  tone. 

"  You  stay  here  long  enough  and  you  will  see 


310  MISS  KAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

that  Mr.  Spencer  is  n't  one,"  she  returned.     "  No  ; 
he  is  a  fine  young  man." 

"  So  Olive  has  your  blessing,  has  she,  if  she  in- 
clines in  that  direction  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  they  are  very  nice  people,  the  Spencers  ; 
but,  dear  me,  this  is  guess-work,  you  know.  There 
may  be  nothing  in  it,  only  Olive  is  such  a  pretty 
girl  I  should  think  every  man  who  sees  her  would 
lose  his  heart.  I  never  saw  any  one  so  beautiful, 
and  her  self  is  lovelier  still ;  that  is  why  she  wears 
well.  She  and  young  Spencer  make  a  very  hand- 
some couple." 

So  Miss  Bagg  went  on,  innocently,  her  listener 
more  and  more  nettled  as  she  proceeded. 

"  No  good  ever  comes  of  match-making,  I  think," 
he  said  at  last. 

"  Bless  you,  I  'm  not  making  any  matches,"  de- 
clared Lydia,  laughing.  "  I  am  only  enjoying  be- 
ing a  spectator.  I  am  glad  Olive  has  a  mother, 
and  that  she  is  here.  I  intend  to  hold  on  to  her  as 
long  as  I  can." 

The  next  morning  when  the  party  gathered  at 
breakfast,  it  seemed  as  though  the  rain  that  was 
blotting  out  all  perspective  in  the  landscape  had 
dampened  the  spirits  of  each  member. 

"  I  am  so  disappointed  to  think  you  can't  see 
guard  mounting,  Cousin  Mary,"  said  Miss  Bagg. 

"  Do  not  worry  about  me  at  all,"  answered  Mrs. 
Carlyle.  "  A  rainy  day  has  plenty  of  compensa- 
tions for  a  person  who  is  making  a  business  of 
being  lazy." 


MR.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    311 

"  It  never  ought  to  rain  at  West  Point,"  declared 
Bertha  autocratically.  "  I  dare  say  the  heavens 
are  weeping  because  I  can't  go  to  the  german  to- 
night, but  I  could  dispense  with  the  attention." 

"  You  can  go,"  remarked  Olive,  "  as  you  know 
very  well.  There  is  little  Mr.  Wild,  who  has  been 
using  every  device  known  to  cadet  ingenuity  to 
secure  you  for  a  hop.  It  is  surprising  how,  for  an 
elderly  person,  you  suit  the  yearling  taste." 

"  Oh,  he  has  a  partner  for  this,  of  course.  Any- 
way, I  would  rather  not  go  at  all  unless  with  one 
of  my  friends.  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  why  don't  you  ask 
me?" 

"You  compliment  me.  Will  you  take  me  in 
tweeds  ?  " 

"  I  dare  say  I  shall  be  obliged  to  make  over  my 
partner  to  you,"  said  Olive.  "  As  he  is  your 
brother,  perhaps  you  will  accept  him.  The  fact 
is,  I  waked  with  a  headache  this  morning,  and  I 
may  not  be  able  to  conquer  it." 

"  It  is  all  the  weather,"  declared  Miss  Spencer, 
regarding  her  friend,  whose  heavy  eyes  corrobo- 
rated her  words.  "  Even  if  Olive  is  not  able  to 
go,  Mrs.  Carlyle,  you  must  come  to  the  hall  and 
see  what  a  pretty  thing  a  military  german  is. 
After  the  old  tarletan  scarfs  and  all  the  tame 
figures  one  is  so  tired  of,  it  is  inspiring  to  pass 
under  an  avenue  of  crossed  swords  and  then  waltz 
in  an  officer's  sash." 

"  Yes,  with  a  sword  held  in  your  partner's  hand, 
the  point  impaling  your  skirt,"  added  Olive.  "  It 


312  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

gives  great  zest  to  a  dance  to  know  that  yon  may 
end,  like  the  hero  of  an  old  novel,  by  falling  on 
your  sword." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  raised  her  eyebrows.  "I  think 
the  headache  is  the  wisest  thing  you  could  have 
under  those  circumstances,  Olive,"  she  observed. 

"  Oh,  no ;  it  will  be  too  bad  if  she  must  miss 
one  of  the  hops,"  said  Lydia  seriously. 

Her  secretary  smiled  at  her  across  the  table. 
"  Which  have  you  decided  to  be  in  your  next 
incarnation,  Miss  Bagg?  A  cadet,  or  the  sister 
of  a  cadet  ?  " 

As  he  spoke,  he  saw  his  friend  Gary  entering  the 
dining-room.  The  latter  recognized  him,  and  im- 
mediately approached  to  shake  hands. 

"  Glad  you  're  back  again,  Van  Kirk,  but  sorry 
to  give  you  such  moist  weather.  Sha'n't  I  see  you 
some  time  to-day  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed.     Where  shall  I  find  you  ?  " 

"  Let  us  go  down  to  Thornton's  quarters  and 
have  a  smoke.  I  am  living  in  camp  now." 

"  All  right.  I  shall  be  ready  when  you  have 
finished  breakfast." 

Lieutenant  Thornton's  quarters  were  in  the 
building  known  as  the  Old  Hospital,  but  which  de- 
serves a  more  pleasantly  suggestive  title.  From 
its  piazza  one  gets  a  charming  panoramic  view  of 
the  Hudson  through  a  succession  of  stone  arches. 
Sunlighted  scenes  of  hills,  woods,  water,  varied 
craft,  and  curving  banks  by  day  ;  by  night,  myste- 
rious pictures  of  great  boats,  with  red,  green,  and 


MR.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    313 

orange  lights,  quietly  moving  up  and  down  the  river, 
far,  far  below,  an  electric  glow  lighting  the  water 
about  them,  and  the  music  from  their  cabins 
coming  like  a  faint  echo  to  the  ear. 

But  to-day  the  view  must  be  taken  on  faith.  As 
Gary  and  his  friend  sprang  up  the  iron  stair  the 
great  drenched  trees  across  the  narrow  road 
dripped  profusely.  The  sentry  had  retired  into 
his  box.  The  foliage  of  the  steeply  declining  bank 
was  obscured  by  mist.  Even  the  clouds  detailed 
to  shower  West  Point  seem  to  have  absorbed  the 
atmosphere  of  discipline,  and  do  their  work  with 
military  thoroughness. 

Gary  ushered  his  friend  into  the  sanctum,  half 
parlor,  half  library,  of  the  absent  lieutenant.  "  I 
believe  you  saw  Thornton  when  you  were  here  be- 
fore. He  has  sailed  for  the  other  side  and  I  miss 
him.  He 's  a  good  fellow." 

There  was  a  cheerfulness  of  manner,  a  new  re- 
sponsiveness about  the  speaker,  which  was  very 
noticeable.  Van  Kirk  looked  at  him  curiously. 

"  Here,  get  down  on  this  divan,"  continued 
Gary,  piling  up  a  lot  of  comfortable  cushions, "  and 
have  a  cigar." 

"  I  am  not  much  of  a  smoker,  but  you  seem  to 
have  found  a  brand  that  agrees  with  you.  If  you 
will  warrant  the  same  effect  upon  me,  I  will  con- 
sume a  whole  box." 

Gary  laughed  as  he  drew  up  his  chair.  "  You 
observe  that  I  am  a  new  man,  don't  you?"  he 
said. 


314  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Are  the  cigars  so  good  ?  "  asked  Van  Kirk,  as 
he  took  one. 

"  I  don't  know  what  I  'm  smoking  these  days, 
nor  what  I  'm  eating,  nor  half  the  time  what  I  'm 
•doing,"  answered  his  friend. 

"  Humph !  You  have  changed.  You  must  be 
in  love." 

"  Lots  better  than  that,  my  boy  ;  I  'm  engaged. 
Yes,  I  haven't  said  anything  about  it,"  continued 
Gary,  his  happiness  shining  in  his  face,  "  but  to 
you  I  don't  mind.  The  very  day  after  you  left 
last  week  I  became  engaged." 

"  And  you  call  that  better  than  being  in  love, 
do  you  ?  "  responded  the  other  gruffly.  "  Well,  I 
don't." 

"  "It  is  a  dismal  enough  thing  to  be  in  one  con- 
dition without  the  other,  let  me  tell  you,"  remarked 
Gary  confidentially,  between  the  puffs  of  his 
newly  lighted  cigar. 

"  You  need  n't  trouble  yourself  to  give  me  any 
information  of  that  kind,"  returned  Van  Kirk 
gloomily.  "  Experience  is  just  as  good  a  teacher 
as  I  want  on  that  subject." 

"  Go  'way.  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  the  other, 
removing  his  cigar  to  gaze  through  half-closed  lids 
at  his  friend.  "  I  have  thought  ever  since  I  first 
saw  you  that  if  I  were  a  woman  you  were  the  sort 
of  man  I  should  fall  in  love  with.  Strong  and 
graceful  and  —  all  that,  you  know." 

"  Oh,  thanks,"  growled  Van  Kirk,  "  you  are  in 
a  roseate  mood." 


MB.   VAN  KIEK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    315 

"  Has  she  ever  seen  you  on  horseback  ?  "  pursued 
Gary.  "  I  don't  believe  she  has." 

"  Bosh,"  remarked  his  friend  ungratefully. 
"  You  're  barking  up  the  wrong  tree  altogether. 
I  'm  not  in  love  with  anybody." 

"You 're  not?" 

*'  No  ;  and  nobody 's  in  love  with  me." 

"  Well,  then,  there  's  no  harm  done  that  I  can 
see." 

"  I  dare  say.  I  've  always  heard  that  love  is 
blind,"  returned  Max,  "  and  you  seem  to  be  repre- 
senting Cupid  just  now." 

Gary's  state  of  mind  was  so  beatific  that  he  felt 
only  commiseration  for  his  grouty  visitor. 

"  Well,  you  seem  inclined  to  be  enigmatical,"  he 
said  with  a  laugh.  "  At  least  you  might  have  the 
grace  to  congratulate  me !  " 

"  How  can  I  ?     Have  I  seen  her  ?  " 

"  No,  I  think  not.  Her  name  is  Bruce,  and  she 
is  —  oh,  she  is  perfection  !  " 

"  Well,  I  congratulate  Miss  Bruce  —  heartily. 
As  for  you,  I  give  you  my  best  wishes,  and  they 
are  that  you  may  remain  in  your  present  frame  of 
mind  and  never  wish  yourself  well  out  of  the 
whole  business." 

Gary  gazed  at  his  friend  with  wide-open  eyes, 
and  emitted  a  long,  soft  whistle. 

"Oho,"  he  said  deliberately.  "At  last  I  see. 
You  have  been  caught." 

"  No,  indeed.  Nothing  so  creditable  to  me  as 
that.  I  have  pushed  my  head  of  my  own  accord, 
in  spite  of  everything,  into  a  noose." 


316  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  And  the  knot  has  tightened,  and  now  you  can't 
get  it  out.  I  see,"  said  Gary  sympathetically. 
"  Well,"  he  added,  "  treat  it  like  other  Gordian 
knots,  —  cut  it." 

"  Very  easy  to  say." 

"  Very  easy  to  do,  if  what  you  said  is  true, 
namely,  that  nobody  is  in  love  with  you." 

"  Confound  it,  Cary."  Max  sat  up  irritably. 
"Don't  you  know  that  when  a  man  has  asked  a 
woman  to  marry  him  —  no,  begged  her  to  —  and 
she  has  consented,  that  there  is  just  one  thing  left 
for  him  to  do,  and  that  is  to  marry  her  ?  " 

"  I  know  that  is  the  generally  accepted  notion," 
returned  the  other  reluctantly.  Then  after  a 
minute's  dejected  silence,  he  added :  "  What  did 
she  accept  you  for,  if  she  did  n't  care  for  you  ? 
I  'm  sorry  for  you,  Van  Kirk,  but  I  'in  afraid  that 
won't  hold  water." 

The  ex-lieutenant  sighed.  "  Thereby  hangs  a 
tale  ;  a  twice-told  tale  to  you,  I  dare  say."  He  met 
his  friend's  sympathetic  gaze  steadily.  "I  sup- 
pose you  know  why  I  left  the  army  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Gary  briefly. 

"  And  I  suppose  you  know  I  got  left  myself." 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  then,  you  have  a  clew  to  why  I  was  ac- 
cepted, have  n't  you?  " 

Cary  looked  thoughtful.  "If  it  was  from  mer- 
cenary motives,"  he  replied  at  last  hopefully,  "then 
why  is  n't  it  all  plain  sailing  ?  Won't  she  drop  you 
like  a  hot  coal  now  ?  " 


MB.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    317 

Van  Kirk  held  his  cigar  between  two  fingers 
and  returned  his  friend's  gaze.  "  I  have  a  hope 
that  she  will,"  he  answered  slowly.  "  I  am  hound 
enough  for  that." 

"  Why  upbraid  yourself,  when  you  are  sure  the 
lady  behaved  from  interested  motives  ?  " 

"  Because  I  am  disgusted  with  myself,"  returned 
the  other  hotly.  "  Why,  because  a  woman  sat  a 
horse  superbly,  sang  like  a  lark,  and  danced  well, 
should  I  have  idealized  her  like  a  schoolboy  and 
pursued  her  at  every  opportunity,  if  I  had  n't  solid- 
ity enough  to  stick  to  her  through  thick  and  thin  ? 
That  is  where  it  hurts.  I  hunt  for  the  grand  pas- 
sion which  absorbed  me  a  little  while  ago,  and 
where  is  it?  Vanished.  Instead  I  find  only  a 
longing  to  sneak  out  and  away.  I  ought  to  be 
kicked." 

Gary  leaned  back  and  crossed  his  left  foot  com- 
fortably over  his  right  knee.  "  It  is  as  plain  as 
day,"  he  said  calmly.  "  You  have  made  a  mistake." 

His  friend  turned  quickly,  and  looked  at  him 
contemptuously.  "  Miss  Bruce  is  evidently  going 
to  marry  an  oracle,"  he  remarked. 

"Wait,  my  boy.  You  don't  understand  me," 
continued  Gary,  with  unruffled  temper.  "  Did  you 
ever  hear  such  a  doctrine  as  that  in  affairs  of  the 
heart  the  woman  chooses  the  man  and  not  vice 
versa  ?  " 

"  No,  I  can't  say  I  have." 

"  It  is  a  fact,  Van  Kirk,  and  I  am  a  convert  to 
it.  Colonel  Mackenzie  first  propounded  the  idea 


318  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

to  me,  and  I  believe  it.  I  've  proved  it,  man. 
Now  this  lady  had  not  chosen  you,  but  your 
money ;  therefore  the  false  flare-up  in  your  affec- 
tions caused  by  her  apparent  choice  of  yourself 
has  vanished  like  a  will-o'-the-wisp." 

Max  laughed.  "  This  is  too  good,"  he  ejaculated. 
"  Who  would  ever  have  dreamed  of  Gary  turning 
fanciful?" 

"  Fact,  Van  Kirk,  not  fancy ;  and  more  likely 
than  not  some  woman  has  really  chosen  you  al- 
ready, and  the  attraction  of  her  desires  is  causing 
half  your  trouble." 

"  Stuff  —  and  —  nonsense,  Gary  !  Happiness 
has  turned  your  head.  You  don't  tell  me  you 
would  like  to  believe  that  women  are  going  about, 
setting  their  hearts  upon  men  unasked,  and  that 
when  a  man  loves  he  must  feel  that  he  has  not 
taken  the  initiative  ?  " 

Gary  nodded  contentedly.  "  Think  about  it, 
Van  Kirk.  You  will  first  endure,  then  pity,  then 
embrace.  See  if  you  don't." 

"  Why,  you  old  iconoclast,  what  are  you  about ! 
I  call  that  speech  profane,  and  I  arn  not  in  a  very 
chivalrous  state  of  mind,  either.  You  might  as 
well  put  men  in  petticoats  at  once." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  mean  endure  and  pity  and  em- 
brace the  girl.  It  is  the  idea.  No ;  the  women 
have  the  upper  hand  of  us  anyway,  because  they 
have  absolute  control  of  themselves,  and  hunting 
for  a  needle  in  a  hay-mow  is  a  mere  bagatelle  to 
finding  that  preference  for  yourself  which  is  hid' 


ME.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    319 

den  in  some  girl's  heart.  You  might  be  alone  for 
hours  with  the  very  woman  who  has  chosen  you, 
and  the  only  impression  you  could  gather  from  her 
behavior  would  be  that  if  you  were  the  last  man 
on  earth  she  would  n't  marry  you." 

Van  Kirk  looked  amused.  tk  You  are  so  wise  I 
am  afraid  of  you,  Gary.  Any  man  who  could  find 
his  fate  under  those  depressing  circumstances  has 
a  penetration  which  I  can  only  admire  with  awe." 

"  Penetration  ?  I  did  n't  have  a  bit.  Fate  by 
a  kind  caprice  bundled  me  neck  and  crop  in  the 
direction  of  my  happiness,  and  I  stumbled  into  it 
as  awkwardly  as  I  have  always  done  everything 
else." 

"  I  wish  I  knew  how  to  get  on  the  right  side  cf 
fate." 

"  Pull  yourself  out  of  the  hole  you  're  in,  first." 

"  I  have  done  all  I  can  do,"  replied  Max.  "  I 
may  as  well  tell  you  that  this  lady  has  held  to  the 
belief  that  I  would  yet  come  into  that  fortune, 
and  I  a  few  days  ago  wrote  her  a  letter  expressly 
and  clearly  undeceiving  her  and  offering  her  her 
freedom." 

Gary  smiled  grimly. 

Van  Kirk  flushed.  "  Yes,  that 's  the  dastardly 
part  of  it,"  he  admitted.  "  I  know  I  'm  a  hypo- 
crite. This  is  a  nice  thing  I  've  been  doing  this 
morning,  too,"  he  added  after  a  little.  "  Of  course, 
if  the  engagement  is  broken  off,  my  talking  it  over 
this  way  won't  matter.  There  is  but  one  other 
person  who  knows  of  the  bond,  and  you  never  saw 


320  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

or  heard  of  ray  fiancee  ;  but  if  she  does  not  give 
me  my  freedom — there,  I  've  said  it  plainly  —  this 
interview  will  be  a  nice  thing  for  you  and  me  to 
carry  in  our  minds,  won't  it  ?  " 

"  You  will  not  marry  her." 

"I  most  certainly  shall." 

"  You  will  not,  I  tell  you.  That  idea  of  honor 
ought  to  be  exploded,  if  it  is  n't." 

"Thank  you.  I  object  to  being  a  pioneer  in 
that  direction." 

"  Why,  what  sort  of  honor  is  it,"  asked  Gary, 
"  to  stand  at  the  altar  and  swear  before  God  and 
man  to  do  a  certain  set  of  things  which  you  know 
thoroughly  well  you  have  no  intention  of  doing? 
What  do  you  think  of  that,  eh  ?  " 

"  Sophistry,"  said  Van  Kirk,  starting  up  from 
the  divan  and  pacing  the  floor.  "  Sophistry.  To 
take  either  horn  of  the  dilemma  would  blight  my 
life.  I  am  going  to  hope  for  the  best  from  that 
letter ;  but "  —  he  turned  and  held  out  his  hand  to 
his  friend,  who  grasped  it  heartily  —  "  if  I  marry 
her,  Gary,  I  know  you.  So  far  as  is  possible,  you 
will  forget  all  I  have  said  to  you." 

"  If  you  marry  her,  I  shall  say  you  are  a  weak 
man,  Van  Kirk.  That  is  what  it  will  be,  —  weak." 

Maxwell's  eyes  looked  straight  into  his  friend's. 
"  Yes,  I  am  too  weak  to  endure  to  have  it  said  that 
I  jilted  a  woman  who  had  trusted  me." 

"  That  is  sophistry,  if  you  like,"  ejaculated  the 
other. 

"  Sophistry  that  would  lead  you,  if  you  were  in 


ME.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    321 

my  place,  aiid  you  know  it,  Gary.  You  have  not 
imposed  upon  me  in  the  least." 

"  No,  no,  no !  "  blustered  the  other,  the  more 
aggressively  that  he  knew  he  was  on  uncertain 
ground.  "  I  'd  let  her  down  easy.  Yes,  of  course 
I  would,  and  I  would  fix  it  so  all  my  world  would 
swear  she  jilted  me,  but  I  would  draw  the  line  at 
marrying  her.  Yes,  sure." 

Max  laughed.  "  You  're  a  trump,  old  fellow, 
but  you  're  perjuring  yourself  right  and  left  for 
me.  Is  n't  that  rather  a  mistaken  sense  of  honor, 
too  ?  Now  I  have  finished  for  to-day.  Tell  me 
about  Miss  Bruce  and  show  me  her  picture  if  you 
will.  I  '11  say  for  her  that  she  knows  how  to 
choose  better  than  most  women." 

But  Van  Kirk  was  fated  not  to  await  his  destiny 
in  this  friendly  circle.  The  same  day,  while  he 
and  Gary  were  at  dinner  in  the  hotel  dining-room, 
there  came  a  telegram  recalling  him  to  New  York 
on  a  business  errand. 

He  looked  around  for  Miss  Bagg  and  her  party, 
but  none  of  them  were  in  sight.  A  waiter  vouch- 
safed the  information  that  they  had  finished  din- 
ner, and  he  believed  they  were  on  the  piazza ;  so 
when  Van  Kirk  rose  from  the  table  he  went  out-of- 
doors.  The  rain  had  ceased,  but  a  dense  white 
mist  hung  low  against  the  hills. 

Going  around  the  corner  of  the  hotel  he  came 
face  to  face  with  Olive.  She  had  a  black  lace 
scarf  thrown  lightly  over  her  head,  and  her  amber 
hair  touched  her  forehead  in  rings  from  the  damp 
ness. 


322  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

She  certainly  started  at  sight  of  hiui,  and  Max 
noticed  it  and  mentally  remarked  its  strangeness. 
He  thought  of  young  Spencer  and  what  Miss  Bagg 
had  said,  and  could  have  believed  that  the  painful 
sensation  the  memory  aroused  was  jealousy,  only, 
low  as  he  had  fallen  in  his  own  estimation,  he  re- 
fused to  admit  that  he  who  so  recently  wooed 
another  woman  had  sunk  to  such  depths  as  to  be 
jealous  of  the  man  whom  Olive  favored. 

She  looked  at  him  calmly.  "  I  am  letting  the 
wind  blow  my  headache  away,"  she  said. 

"  I  hope  it  may,"  he  returned,  falling  into  step 
with  her.  "  I  came  to  say  good-by  again.  I  am 
recalled  to  the  city." 

"  Yes  ?  Too  bad  they  won't  permit  you  to  take 
a  little  vacation.  The  thought  of  New  York  is 
not  a  tempting  one  just  now." 

She  turned  her  head  and  met  his  gaze  with 
her  beautiful,  honest  eyes,  and  for  the  first  time 
Van  Kirk  wondered  if  it  might  be  their  honesty 
which  had  given  him  a  new  ideal  which  Ida  was 
not. 

Then  Gary's  words  rushed  back  to  him  with  al- 
luring and  flattering  sweetness.  He  recalled  the 
clinging  of  Olive's  hand  when  she  greeted  him 
suddenly  last  night.  A  glowing  sensation  per- 
vaded him  from  head  to  foot.  He  lived  long  in 
that  second,  but  it  passed  and  he  struck  earth 
again.  How  she  had  laughed  at  him  afterward. 
It  had  been  as  though  one  looked  for  warmth  and 
comfort  and  received  an  icy  bath. 


MR.  VAN  KIRK   UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    323 

Nothing  could  be  more  serene  than  her  glance 
now.  He  dubbed  himself  maudlin  to  have  for  a 
moment  connected  Gary's  nonsensical  theories  with 
her. 

"  It  has  been  good  to  see  you  again,  Olive,"  he 
said,  "  although  you  have  n't  treated  me  very  well." 

"  Have  n't  I,  really  ? "  she  asked  gravely. 
"  Then  I  ask  your  pardon." 

"  I  did  n't  think  you  would  laugh  at  me,  but,  on 
the  whole,  I  am  glad  you  did.  If  you  can  laugh 
at  trouble  always,  I  shall  be  well  satisfied." 

"  An  ungracious  part,"  she  returned.  "  I  should 
be  sorry  to  fit  it." 

"  Oh,  here  you  are,  Olive,"  said  Mrs.  Carlyle's 
voice,  as  that  lady  came  suddenly  into  sight.  "  I 
missed  you."  She  gave  a  quick  look  from  her 
daughter  to  Van  Kirk. 

"  I  felt  as  though  the  air  would  refresh  me," 
returned  the  girl,  "and  it  has.  Max  is  saying 
good-by,  mother." 

"  Off  again  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Carlyle,  joining  in 
the  promenade,  her  arm  about  her  daughter's 
waist.  "  You  make  flying  visits." 

"  Much  briefer  than  I  like,"  returned  the  young 
man.  "  A  telegram  takes  me." 

"  No  bad  news,  I  hope." 

"  No.  Uncle  Jotham  left  affairs  in  very  com- 
pact and  systematic  shape.  Nevertheless  there  is 
occasionally  something  for  me  to  attend  to  more 
complicated  than  cutting  off  Miss  Bagg's  cou- 
pons." 


324  MISS  XAGG'S  SECEETA11Y. 

"  Have  you  seen  her  ?  She  is  there  iii  the 
parlor." 

"  Then  I  will  go  in.  Good-by,  Cousin  Mary." 
He  held  out  his  hand.  "  When  are  you  coming 
back?  I  suppose  your  latch-string  will  be  out 
when  you  do.  You  may  have  to  send  Olive's 
winter  wardrobe  up  here,  Miss  Bagg  seems  so 
content  with  the  situation." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  smiled  gently  as  she  shook  hands 
with  him,  but  she  did  not  give  him  one  of  the  cor- 
dial and  hearty  responses  which  he  had  received 
from  her  all  his  life,  and  he  felt  the  lack  and  it  de- 
pressed him  like  a  bad  omen.  Cousin  Mary  had 
never  before  failed  him. 

"  I  am  growing  as  nervous  as  an  invalid,"  he 
thought  impatiently.  "  Good-by,  Olive,"  he  said 
aloud  briefly,  holding  out  his  hand.  u  I  hope  the 
ache  will  vanish,  and  that  the  sabres  will  clash 
merrily  over  that  head  to-night." 

"Thank  you.  I  hope  so,  too,"  she  answered 
brightly.  "  Good-by.  Good  luck  to  the  business." 

She  passed  her  arm  around  her  mother  as  they 
walked  on  alone,  and  drew  an  involuntary  long 
breath. 

"  Are  we  glad  he  has  gone  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Carlyle 
tentatively.  It  was  the  first  time  she  and  Olive 
had  been  alone  since  breakfast. 

"  Yes,  very  glad,"  answered  Olive  bravely  ;  "  but 
you  must  not  believe,  mother,  that  Max  has  done 
anything  to  be  blamed  for.  I  am  afraid  he  noticed 
that  you  did  not  ask  him  to  visit  you." 


ME.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    325 

"  Is  he  really  entirely  innocent,  Olive  ?  " 

"Entirely."  The  girl  spoke  steadily,  but  col- 
ored to  the  roots  of  her  hair. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that.  It  would  be  a  great 
pain  to  be  disappointed  in  Max.  I  have  not 
known  many  men  of  his  age  who  inspired  so  much 
respect." 

"  But  —  I  do  not  wish  to  see  him  —  for  a  while. 
I  hope  he  will  not  come  back,"  said  the  girl 
slowly. 

"  I  hope  not,  too,  then.  Yet  hold  yourself  calm, 
my  child.  Anything  can  be  borne,  if  we  have  not 
done  wrong." 

"  But  I  have  done  wrong."  Olive  was  breathing 
quickly.  "  I  have  done  the  very  worst  thing  a 
girl  can  do." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  drew  her  a  little  more  closely  to 
her  side.  "  Forgive  yourself,  dear.  Relax  spirit- 
ually, and  all  the  resentment  and  humiliation  will 
fade  away.  It  is  like  that  mist  over  there.  It 
obscures  and  overpowers  all  the  substantial  and 
true  things  behind  it  now ;  and  yet  the  sun  is 
shining  full  and  strong,  and  in  the  end  will  dis- 
perse it.  You  know  that  God's  love  is  the  true 
and  everlasting  sun.  Turn  yourself  toward  it, 
darling,  and  you  will  find  things  take  their  true 
proportions  in  the  light." 

"  Do  you  think  I  need  not  suffer  ?  "  asked  the 
girl,  her  voice  vibrating. 

"No.  You  may  have  to  suffer;  and  yet  there 
are  heights  in  your  being  where  you  may  rise 


826  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

above  that  very  sorrow.  One  of  the  best  helps,  as 
we  have  always  learned,  is  to  do  the  duty  that  lies 
next  you  each  minute.  That  plain  doing  provides 
a  something  into  which  strength  flows.  Another 
help  is  to  take  a  long  view.  Go  up  high  in  your 
thought,  dear,  and  take  a  long  view.  You  did  not 
come  into  being  by  accident  to  stumble  along 
through  life  and  suffer  without  reason  or  benefit. 
You  were  created  by  a  God  who  is  Love,  because 
He  wished  to  give  you  eternal  life  and  happiness. 
Now  that  you  have  met  a  serious  sorrow,  He 
knows  it,  and  He  will  help  you  bear  it  and  show 
you  at  the  right  time  why  He  permitted  it." 

"  You  help  me  bear  it,  mother,"  murmured 
Olive.  "  How  ungrateful  I  am  to  forget  for  one 
minute  that  I  have  you !  " 

"  It  is  He  that  helps  you  through  me,  then." 

"  But  I  can  get  hold  of  you,"  murmured  the 
girl. 

"  He  knows  that  and  leads  you  gently,  dear. 
Keep  looking  up,  and  keep  being  grateful,  through 
everything.  Remember  what  I  have  so  often  said, 
that  life  is  a  great,  mysterious  game  of  Magic 
Music.  You  are  groping  like  everybody  else,  try- 
ing to  discover  what  before  you  came  upon  the 
scene  was  foreseen  for  you  to  do.  You  thought 
perhaps  in  the  present  instance  you  had  found  out 
an  important  link  in  the  chain  of  events.  Then 
you  became  aware  with  a  shock  that  you  were  mis- 
taken." 

They  paused  in  a  corner  of  the  north  piazza,  and 


ME.  VAN  KIRK  UNBURDENS  HIMSELF.    327 

Olive  took  her  mother's  hand  and  held  it  while 
she  looked  down  at  the  river. 

"  If  you  were  mistaken,  and  what  you  thought 
you  wanted  is  not  really  for  you,  not  a  part  of 
what  is  your  own,  then  you  do  not  really  wish  for 
it ;  for  He  who  plans  your  destiny  knows  best,  and 
only  seeks  to  bless  you." 

The  girl  looked  around  and  met  her  mother's 
eyes,  a  pathetic  longing  in  her  gaze.  "I  wish  I 
need  not  want  it  so,"  she  said  almost  inaudibly. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  pressed  the  fresh  cheek  with  her 
own. 

"  Hold  yourself  quiet,  dear,"  she  answered,  "  and 
listen  for  the  divine  music.  Your  soul  will  hear 
it." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  NEW   ARRIVAL. 

MRS.  CARLYLE'S  last  day  at  the  post  dawned 
crystal  clear.  West  Point  is  like  a  beauty  who 
rewards  appropriate  and  lovely  costuming.  Bathed 
in  soft  rain  and  sunshine,  clothed  in  delicately 
shaded  verdure,  girded  with  the  myriad  jewels  of 
the  sparkling  river,  —  on  a  morning  like  this  she 
uplifts  and  refreshes  the  heart. 

"  It  is  altogether  too  good  to  leave,"  observed 
Miss  Bagg,  as  they  came  down  the  steps  from  the 
hotel.  "  I  wish  you  could  reconsider,  Cousin 
Mary." 

"  I  have  had  all  that  I  may  this  time,"  returned 
Mrs.  Carlyle,  "  and  it  has  invigorated  me  wonder- 
fully. I  leave  my  little  girl  with  you  very  grate- 
fully." 

"  I  have  been  afraid  the  last  few  days  that  Olive 
was  growing  tired  of  it,"  said  Lydia.  "  She  has 
seemed  rather  quiet,  and  has  n't  taken  quite  the 
same  interest  in  things." 

"  No,  she  is  very  glad  to  stay.  I  gave  her  her 
choice.  So  long  as  Miss  Bertha  is  with  you  I  knew 
you  did  not  need  her." 

V I  should  be  very  sorry  to  have  her  go." 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  329 

u  Then  we  are  all  satisfied,"  replied  Mrs.  Carlyle. 

They  were  on  their  way  to  the  camp  to  see  guard 
mounting,  and  now  the  girls  joined  them.  The 
band  was  pouring  forth  the  patriotic  strains  of 
"  Hail  Columbia  "  as  our  party  passed  beyond  the 
hedge.  By  the  time  they  had  found  good  places 
among  the  visitors'  seats,  troop-parade  was  in  prog- 
ress. Lieutenant  Gary  approached  and  greeted 
them. 

"  Well,  the  poor  plebes  are  in  camp,"  observed 
Miss  Bagg,  looking  up  at  him  anxiously ;  "  I  hope 
they  're  all  right." 

"  They  seem  to  be  alive  so  far,"  returned  Gary, 
smiling  and  leaning  one  hand  on  the  iron  back  of 
the  rustic  sofa. 

"  You  officers  ought  to  protect  them,"  declared 
Miss  Bagg  solemnly. 

"  We  have  done  what  we  can.  I  don't  think 
there  will  be  much  hazing  this  year.  C  company  is 
pretty  safe,  at  any  rate." 

"  That  is  your  company,"  returned  Lydia,  with 
interest. 

The  lieutenant  nodded.  "  Hemeuway  will  do  as 
much  as  I  can.  He  is  a  very  strong  man  —  Hem- 
euway. He  won't  have  any  nonsense.  He  sum- 
moned the  cadets  to  his  tent  the  night  before  the 
plebes  came  into  camp,  and  I  fancy  he  read  them 
the  Riot  Act." 

Miss  Spencer  listened  to  this  with  sharpened 
ears.  It  flattered  her  vanity ;  for  might  she  not 
believe  that  her  vigorous  denunciation  of  torment- 


330  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

ing  these  strangers  had  influenced  the  young  cap- 
tain to  an  action  pretty  sure  to  make  him  unpopu- 
lar in  the  corps  ? 

"  I  do  like  Mr.  Hemenway,"  said  Lydia  heartily. 
"  Now,  was  n't  that  nice  of  him  !  I  have  seen 
enough  of  that  squad  drilling  on  the  plain,"  she 
continued,  shaking  her  head.  "  I  wish  first-class 
men  could  attend  to  that.  Those  corporals  are  not 
polite" 

Gary  smiled  at  the  earnest  announcement,  made 
more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger. 

"  I  don't  see  why  you  tactical  officers  allow  such 
severity,"  added  Miss  Bagg  reproachfully. 

"  Oh,  for  the  most  part  the  corporals  are  doing 
their  best.  It  does  n't  do  to  interfere  with  them 
too  much.  You  see,  Miss  Bagg,  it  is  n't  as  though 
none  but  modest  and  well-bred  young  fellows  pre- 
sented themselves  at  the  academy.  Young  men 
come  to  West  Point  at  the  age  when  they  are  sure 
they  know  it  all,  —  many  of  them  quite  certain 
that  they  have  the  world  by  the  tail  and  are  going 
t(>  swing  it  in  any  direction  they  choose.  Now,  the 
first  thing  for  them  to  learn  here  is  that  they  are 
at  the  very  beginning  of  all  things  ;  that  even  a 
yearling  is  a  creature  so  infinitely  above  them  that 
they  are  not  to  be  mentioned  in  the  same  breath 
with  him.  When  they  have  assimilated  this  fact 
and  are  adjusted  to  the  situation,  they  are  down  on 
hard-pan  and  can  begin  to  build  up.  When  they 
graduate  from  the  academy  they  are  supposed  to 
be  fitted  to  fill  any  social  position  as  well  as  that 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  331 

required  by  their  profession,  and  as  you  have  seen 
some  of  the  recruits  we  get,  you  will  agree  with 
me  in  thinking  that  for  making  a  silk  purse  out  of 
that  material  which  the  Creator  did  not  design  for 
the  purpose,  West  Point  has  no  superior." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  had  also  been  listening  to  this  little 
harangue.  "  I  think  that  constitutes  the  charm  of 
the  work  here  as  it  appears  to  a  spectator,"  she 
said.  "  One  comes  to  feel  that  honor,  dignity,  and 
a  right  self-respect  are  being  inculcated  day  by 
day  into  these  young  men.  It  seems  as  though 
the  strict  method  and  order  and  cultivation  of 
mind  and  body  must  lay  the  foundation  for  a  noble 
manhood." 

"  It  does.     The  curriculum  is  a  fine  one." 

"  The  picturesque  side,"  continued  Mrs.  Carlyle, 
"  the  strength  and  beauty  displayed  in  the  tactical 
part,  is  very  interesting.  I  have  been  wondering 
why  it  is  that  there  is  something  so  inspiring  to 
everybody  in  the  idea  of  armies ;  the  uniforms,  the 
weapons,  the  unanimous  action.  It  stirs  the  blood 
to  see  the  working  even  on  a  small  representative 
scale,  and  I  have  discovered  an  explanation  which 
at  least  satisfies  me." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Gary. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  gave  him  her  calm  smile.  "  You 
will  think  it  very  fanciful,  perhaps,  but  I  believe 
it  is  because  the  whole  matter  of  arming  and  pre- 
paring for  defense  corresponds  to  the  great  under- 
lying spiritual  facts  of  warfare  with  and  defense 
against  evil." 


332  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

"  That  is  an  interesting  suggestion,"  returned 
Gary  politely,  but  he  did  think  the  speaker  fanci- 
ful. Underlying  facts  were  not  usually  mined  for 
among  the  visitors  at  West  Point  troop-parade. 

This  ceremony  was  now  finished,  and  cadets  not 
on  duty  came  hastening  to  meet  the  young  girls 
who  were  scattered  in  groups  under  the  trees. 

Lieutenant  Gary  excused  himself,  and  went  up 
to  the  hotel  to  breakfast.  Now  and  then  a  plebe 
in  the  uniform  gray  trousers  and  short  shell-jacket 
crossed  the  green  on  some  errand,  his  palms  to  the 
front,  his  thumbs  out,  and  his  toes  as  depressed  as 
his  spirits. 

It  had  come  around  again  to  be  Osborn  Heinen- 
way's  turn  to  perform  a  tour  of  guard  duty.  He 
appeared  now  in  the  full  dress  of  officer  of  the 
day,  and,  approaching  our  party,  paused  before 
Miss  Spencer  and  lifted  his  plumed  hat  before  set- 
tling the  chin-strap  in  its  place. 

The  girl  looked  him  over  critically.  Anything 
more  trim,  speckless,  and  cleanly  shining  than  his 
uniform  and  accoutrements  could  not  be  found. 
Then  she  raised  her  eyes  to  his  face. 

"  You  don't  look  pretty  in  that  hat,"  she  said 
nonchalantly. 

The  big  young  man  returned  her  look  with  his 
usual  steady  gaze.  He  was  always  unprepared  for 
her  random  remarks,  and  knew  no  more  where  she 
would  strike  next  than  the  mastiff  can  predict  the 
antics  of  the  toy  terrier  which  gambols  about 
him. 


.     A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  333 

"I  didn't  come  out  here  to  look  pretty,"  he  re- 
turned stoically. 

Olive  felt  sorry  for  him.  He  was  so  beautifully 
spick  and  span.  She  thought  he  deserved  some 
acknowledgment. 

"  I  am  glad  you  are  going  to  be  officer  of  the 
day,"  she  said,  "  for  it  is  my  mother's  last  morning, 
and  you  are  so  tall  you  are  more  impressive  than 
some  of  the  others  when  you  review  the  guard. 
That  moment  when  you  uncover  your  head  and  the 
drum-major  and  all  the  others  pass  by  to  swinging 
music  and  salute  you  is  positively  thrilling.  I 
never  get  tired  of  seeing  it." 

"  Salute  us  now,"  ordered  Bertha. 
Hemenway  smiled,  and  good-naturedly  uncover- 
ing his  head  held   his  plumed   hat   in  his  white- 
gloved  right  hand  over  his  left  shoulder. 

After  a  moment  of  this  respectful  attitude  he 
lowered  the  hat  and  looked  at  it. 

"That  plume,"  he  remarked  colloquially,  "is 
the  fullest,  handsomest  one  in  the  corps." 

"  I  '11  warrant  it  is,  if  you  chose  it,"  replied 
Bertha  sweetly. 

"  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  choosing  it,"  he  re- 
joined quickly,  nettled  out  of  his  usual  self-posses- 
sion. "  They  are  issued  to  us." 

"  There  are  so  many  things  I  wish  I  under- 
stood about  your  terms  for  things,"  said  Olive, 
willing  to  make  a  diversion.  "  Companies  and 
battalions  and  regiments  and  all  that,  and  how 
many  of  one  makes  another.  You  know  what  I 
mean." 


334  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Hemenway  turned  his  gray  eyes  upon  the 
speaker.  They  were  pleasant,  well-shaded  eyes, 
and  Bertha  had  confided  to  Olive  in  private  that 
she  believed  he  put  his  lashes  up  in  curl-papers  at 
night. 

"  How  many  companies  in  a  regiment  ? "  he 
began,  when  Bertha  shrugged  her  shoulders  and 
raised  her  eyebrows. 

"He  is  such  a  heavy  man,"  she  remarked. 
"  One  can  get  something  out  of  him,  if  one  can 
wait ;  but  he  is  so  slow." 

At  this  point  the  adjutant  and  his  shadow,  the 
sergeant-major,  came  into  view,  and  the  retiring 
officer  of  the  day  joined  Hemenway,  who  smiled 
imperturbably  at  Olive. 

"Save  up  your  questions,  Miss  Carlyle,"  he 
said.  "  Another  time ; "  then  he  walked  out  upon 
the  green  and  stood  a  little  in  advance  of  his  pred- 
ecessor, for  the  adjutant's  call  had  sounded,  and 
the  new  guard  had  marched  on. 

Mr.  Le  Roy,  the  cadet  lieutenant  who  had  made 
himself  such  a  favorite  with  Miss  Bagg,  ap- 
proached and  greeted  our  party. 

"  How  are  the  poor  plebes  getting  along  ? " 
asked  Miss  Lydia. 

Le  Roy  smiled  and  replied,  in  his  quiet  fashion : 

"  Finely,  finely,  Miss  Bagg.  We  treat  them 
like  lords.  We  have  yearlings  to  fix  up  their 
tents  for  them,  and  bring  them  lemonade,  and  at- 
tend to  any  little  wish  they  may  express." 

Miss  Bagg  smiled  and  shook  her  head.  Bertha 
fixed  him  with  her  reproachful  gaze. 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  335 

"  How  about  Mr.  Kidd?"she  asked,  her  mis- 
chievous smile  touching  the  corners  of  her  lips. 

The  young  lieutenant  laughed.  "  Oh,  yes,"  he 
answered,  "  the  kid  that  gambols  up  and  down  the 
company  street." 

"What  do  you  think  of  that,  Miss  Bagg?" 
asked  Olive.  "  One  of  your  plebes  happens  to  be 
named  Kidd,  and  so  he  must  gambol  about  on  all 
fours  and  nibble  grass  to  divert  these  intellectual 
young  men." 

"  Now,  should  n't  you  think  they  would  have 
more  sense  ?  "  demanded  Lydia  plaintively. 
"  Well,  it  never  happened  in  C  company,"  she 
added,  with  a  confident  glance  at  Le  Roy,  who  was 
Hemenway's  lieutenant. 

It  was  a  significant  fact  that  while  the  other 
three  company  streets  were  deserted,  not  a  plebe 
venturing  to  emerge  from  his  tent,  at  the  opening 
of  C  company  street  was  gathered  a  little  knot  of 
shell-jacketed,  sombre  gray  figures,  watching  with 
all  their  eyes  the  pretty  ceremony  of  guard  mount- 
ing. 

"  I  told  them  they  might  look  on,"  replied  Le 
Roy  carelessly,  to  Lydia's  grateful  questioning. 

"  Now  is  your  time,  Mr.  Le  Roy,"  declared 
Olive.  "  Ask  Miss  Bagg  anything,  to  the  half  of 
her  kingdom.  It  is  yours." 

"  See  the  poor  things,"  said  Bertha.  "  They 
are  so  sober-colored.  Does  n't  it  seem  as  if  they 
had  been  snubbed  and  hazed  and  squad-drilled  into 
perfect  grubs  ?  Miss  Bagg,  why  don't  you  go  and 


33G  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

take  a  plebe  in  one  band  and  a  white  and  gray  and 
crimson  and  gold  cadet  officer  in  the  other  and 
say :  '  Poor  chrysalis,  take  courage,  liehold  the 
butterfly  ? ' " 

They  all  laughed,  but  Olive  touched  her  mother. 
"  Now  is  n't  this  effective  ?  "  she  asked.  "  I  like 
this  part." 

Hemenway,  who  had  been  standing  erect,  with 
arms  folded,  now  uncovered  his  head.  The  loudly 
playing  baud  and  the  guard  passed  before  him, 
every  officer  saluting. 

'"  You  like  to  see  him  show  his  respect  for  the 
guard? "  said  Le  Roy  to  Olive.  "  Very  deceptive 
sometimes,  I  assure  you.  When  a  man  has  his 
partner  engaged  for  a  hop  and  his  plans  are  cut 
off  by  unexpectedly  having  to  act  officer  of  the 
day,  he  does  n't  feel  a  particle  of  respect  for  the 
guard,  no  matter  what  he  may  appear  to  do." 

"  He  seeks  consolation  sometimes  in  ordering  the 
drums  to  beat  five  minutes  before  the  real  time  to 
close  the  hop,"  declared  Bertha,  with  a  knowing 
nod. 

Le  Roy  laughed.  "  Never,  I  am  sure,  Miss 
Spencer." 

"  It  is  a  wicked  shame,  too,"  added  the  girl. 

She  looked  after  Hemenway  as  he  departed 
with  his  companion  for  their  tour  around  the 
camp.  It  was  a  pity  he  could  not  see  the  expres- 
sion of  her  eyes. 

The  band  marched  to  its  place  near  the  visitors' 
tent,  for  the  morning  practice. 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  337 

A  blonde  cadet  of  very  youthful  appearance  ap- 
proached and  greeted  Bertha  eagerly. 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Wild,"  she  returned. 
"  You  know  Miss  Carlyle.  Have  you  met  Mrs. 
Carlyle  ?  Let  me  introduce  you  to  Miss  Bagg." 

"  How  do  you  like  West  Point,  Mr.  Wild  ?  " 
asked  Lydia,  as  the  young  fellow  raised  his  cap. 

"  Very  much,  except  for  the  trouble  it  is  to  stay 
here,"  was  the  artless  response.  Mr.  Wild  was 
one  of  those  happy-go-lucky  youths  who  are  al- 
ways on  the  ragged  edge,  ready  to  slip  back  down 
the  steeps  of  Parnassus. 

"  I  saw  you  drilling  a  squad  of  plebes  the  other 
day,"  said  Miss  Spencer  severely.  "  I  believe 
when  a  private  is  detailed  to  assist,  you  are  worse 
than  the  officers." 

"  Why,  they  want  us  to  jump  on  them,  really," 
returned  the  yearling,  delighted  to  have  Miss 
Spencer  to  himself  a  moment,  whether  severe  or 
otherwise.  "  You  've  got  to  do  it,  or  else  the 
plebes  won't  pay  any  attention  to  you.  I  remem- 
ber there  was  one  good-natured  corporal  over  us 
when  I  first  came  here,  and  whenever  he  took  our 
squad  we  laughed  in  our  sleeves  and  knew  we 
need  n't  work  hard." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  were  a  very  evil-disposed 
plebe,"  returned  Bertha,  shaking  her  head  gravely. 

"  It  is  pretty  good  fun  to  holler  at  them  at  first," 
pursued  Mr.  Wild  candidly,  "  but  you  get  aw- 
fully tired  of  it.  Why,  the  next  morning  after 
you  saw  me  I  was  so  hoarse  I  had  to  swallow  a 


338  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

whole  spoonful  of  vaseline  before  I  could  speak 
aloud." 

"  It  is  n't  the  way  to  treat  them,"  remarked 
Bertha,  with  an  expression  which  indicated  that 
she  knew  accurately  what  the  right  way  would  be 
and  the  authorities  made  a  mistake  not  to  inter- 
view her. 

Then  she  rose  with  her  friends,  leaving  Mr. 
Wild,  when  she  parted  with  him,  very  undecided 
in  his  youthful  mind  as  to  her  opinion  of  him. 
Perhaps  it  was  quite  as  well  that  he  did  not  sus- 
pect that  she  might  not  think  about  him  at  all. 

The  fine  morning  had  proved  deceptive.  Threat- 
ening clouds  rose  swiftly,  and,  whether  for  this  or 
some  other  reason,  a  signal  from  the  drums  made 
the  announcement  that  there  would  be  no  drill. 

A  subdued  murmur,  like  the  echo  of  a  cheer, 
arose  in  camp,  and  out  came  a  plebe  into  one  of 
the  streets,  and  went  through  a  triumphant  per- 
formance of  flapping  his  wings  and  crowing. 

"  Well,  now,  that  looks  as  if  he  were  in  good 
spirits,"  suggested  Mrs.  Carlyle,  as  they  walked  on. 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Carlyle,"  said  Bertha,  laughing, 
"  that  was  a  little  favor  he  was  doing  for  a  first- 
class  man." 

Olive  and  her  mother,  when  the  others  had  gone 
into  the  hotel,  walked  on  to  Trophy  Point  and  sat 
down. 

The  hillside  at  their  feet  was  flecked  with  but- 
tercups,  daisies,  and  red  clover.  The  cloud  shad- 
ows darkened  the  bosom  of  the  water.  The  menu- 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  339 

tains,  covered  with  their  close,  rugged  evergreens, 
were  for  the  moment  gigantic  banks  of  moss,  vel- 
vety in  texture  and  touched  with  high  lights. 

"  What  a  blessed  thing  it  is  that  I  can  take  this 
with  me  right  into  Twenty-fourth  Street,"  said  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  after  they  had  sat  for  some  time  enjoying 
in  silence.  She  looked  across  at  Martlaer's  Rock, 
the  island  in  whose  heart  she  had  recently  enjoyed 
a  day  of  most  gracious  and  graceful  hospitality. 
She  thought  of  the  sweet,  old-fashioned  garden, 
the  house  overreached  by  the  protecting  arms  of 
sturdy,  far-spreading  trees,  and  the  wren's  nest  in 
the  corner  of  the  piazza,  whose  busy  occupant,  flit- 
ting in  and  out,  "  sang  as  though  she  came  into  a 
fortune  every  five  minutes." 

"  I  shall  not  like  to  think  of  you  to-morrow  in 
the  midst  of  drudgery,"  said  Olive. 

"  And  you  need  not,  for  I  shall  not  be  there. 
My  mind  is  full  of  memories  which  will  enchant 
my  surroundings  for  a  long  time  to  come,  and  I 
shall  be  speeding  up  here  in  spirit  every  hour." 

"  Dear  little  mother." 

"  I  am  so  glad  you  decided  to  remain,  Oliva 
This  is  a  good  place  for  you  for  a  while  longer," 
added  Mrs.  Carlyle.  "  You  are  behaving  well, 
dear.  I  congratulate  you  and  I  thank  you." 

The  girl  smiled  down  at  the  river,  where  a 
steamer  was  slowly  drawing  a  little  village  of 
barges  after  it. 

But  that  afternoon,  after  her  mother  had  gone, 
Bertha  found  her  in  her  room,  crying. 


340  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

"  Why  you  dear  girl,"  said  Miss  Spencer,  putting 
her  arms  gently  around  her.  "  How  hard-hearted 
vou  make  me  feel.  Just  think  how  long:  it  is 

«/  O 

since  I  have  seen  my  mother." 

Olive  yielded  to  her  friend's  embrace,  but  her 
quiet  sobbing  continued. 

"  Of  course  I  have  thought  every  day  might  be 
the  last,"  continued  Bertha,  "  but  now  my  aunt 
has  passed  through  her  ordeal  so  successfully,  and 
mamma  writes  such  happy,  hopeful  letters,  I  never 
thought  of  crying  for  her,  but  I  shall  now  if  you 
don't  stop." 

"  Let  me  —  cry,"  said  Olive,  who  had  really  be- 
haved so  very  well  that,  now  her  mother  was  not 
by  to  suffer  for  her,  she  needed  this  indulgence. 

Her  dead  hope  had  received  decent  burial,  and, 
though  she  meant  never  to  visit  its  grave,  some- 
times her  unruly  thoughts  brought  her  unexpect- 
edly upon  it,  often  at  a  time  when  it  would  be  the 
extreme  of  bad  form  to  omit  a  smile  and  a  jest. 

So  now  she  mourned  secretly  in  Bertha's  arms, 
and  relieved  her  swelling  heart,  while  Miss  Spen- 
cer wondered  a  little,  but  patted  her  shoulder 
soothingly  and  passed  away  the  time  in  admiring 
her  friend's  hair. 

"  You  have  been  very  good  to  me,"  said  Olive 
at  last,  sitting  up.  "  You  won't  tell  Miss  Bagg." 

"  No,  indeed.  There  is  nothing  like  a  good  cry 
once  in  a  while,"  returned  Miss  Spencer,  going  to 
the  glass  and  beginning  to  make  her  toilet.  "  Do 
you  see  it  is  clearing  off  ?  There  will  be  parade." 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  341 

"  Do  help  me  get  out  of  going  to  parade  to- 
day ! "  begged  Olive.  "  You  see  how  my  eyes 
look." 

"Nothing  easier.  Oversleep,"  suggested  Ber- 
tha sententiously. 

"  Well,  I  will  lie  down  and  try.  Cousin  Lydia 
will  think  I  am  crazy." 

"  Oh,  no.  She  is  at  Mrs.  Mackenzie's  this  af- 
ternoon and  will  stay  late,  no  doubt.  I  '11  fix 
it.  Don't  worry." 

So  it  was  that  when  Bertha  tripped  over  to  camp 
alone  in  her  most  fetching  gown,  Miss  Bagg  met 
her  anxiously. 

"  I  have  to  report  a  '  cold  absence '  for  Miss 
Carlyle,"  she  declared  lightly. 

"  Why,  what 's  the  matter  ?  I  had  better  go  up 
and  see  her." 

"  No,  indeed,  she  would  n't  like  it  at  all.  She 
is  lying  down,  and  she  has  Howells's  last  and 
does  n't  want  to  be  disturbed.  She  said  she  would 
trust  Ralph  to  go  through  it  all  right  once  without 
her." 

Miss  Bagg  was  easily  persuaded  not  to  forego 
the  spectacle,  and  as  Bertha  was  led  away  by  the 
pretty  daughter  of  the  commandant  to  join  a  bevy 
of  girls,  Lydia  took  her  customary  seat.  It  was 
shared  this  afternoon  with  a  rather  portly,  richly 
dressed  lady  whom  she  had  not  seen  before. 

The  latter,  who  had  observed  by  unmistakable 
signs  that  Miss  Bagg  was  not  a  stranger,  cast  sev- 
eral tentative  glances  toward  her.  Lydia  occa- 


342  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

sionally  caught  her  eye,  and  after  the  ceremonies 
were  well  begun  the  stranger  addressed  her :  — 

"  Excuse  me,  but  can  you  tell  me  the  name  of 
the  adjutant  ?  " 

"  Certainly.     His  name  is  Spencer." 

"  Thank  you.  I  think  one  is  always  interested 
in  the  adjutant,  and  this  one  is  unusually  graceful 
and  fine-looking.  My  son  graduated  from  the 
academy." 

"  Indeed  ?  "  Miss  Bagg  was  alive  with  interest 
at  once.  "  Was  he  adjutant  ?  " 

"  No,  he  was  a  captain." 

"  I  think  you  are  to  be  congratulated.  This 
training  makes  such  men  of  them." 

The  stranger  gave  a  little  gracious  bow,  and  de- 
cided that  Miss  Bagg  was  a  most  agreeable  person. 

"  I  expected  to  find  my  son  here,"  continued  the 
lady,  "  and  am  much  disappointed." 

"  Ah,  that  is  too  bad,"  returned  Lydia  politely. 
"  You  must  have  many  associations  with  this 
place." 

"  Yes.  Not  of  the  pleasantest  sort.  Very  few 
mothers  of  cadets  can  have.  One  does  n't  find  it 
easy  to  relinquish  all  claim  to  one's  own  flesh 
and  blood." 

Parade  over,  the  two  sauntered  up  to  the  hotel 
together,  talking  quite  like  old  friends  of  the  sub- 
ject which  they  had  in  common. 

Olive  happened  to  come  to  the  door  as  they  ap- 
proached, and  seeing  them,  shrank  back  and  lost 
a  little  of  her  color. 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  343 

In  a  moment  she  recovered  herself  and  came 
forward. 

"  You  surprised  me  very  much,  Cousin  Elinor,'* 
she  said.  "  When  did  you  come  ?  " 

Miss  Bagg  looked  on  in  surprise  as  they  kissed 
one  another. 

*'  Why,  Olive,  you  know  I  was  sure  of  finding 
Max  here.  They  told  me  at  the  office  that  he  was 
away  and  his  mail  was  to  be  sent  here ;  so  I  came 
right  up,  for  I  was  in  great  haste  to  see  him.  I 
did  n't  know  whether  you  were  still  here  or  not, 
and  I  was  feeling  quite  friendless  over  there  at 
parade,  seeing  no  one  I  knew,  when  I  met  this 
lady.  Perhaps  you  are  acquainted." 

To  her  surprise  Olive  slipped  her  hand  through 
the  little  woman's  arm. 

"  That  is  quite  a  joke.  Cousin  Lydia,  what  a 
faculty  you  have  for  meeting  connections  of  your 
own  family  by  chance.  This  is  Maxwell's  mother, 
Mrs.  Van  Kirk.  Let  me  formally  introduce  Miss 
Bagg." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  stared.  There  could  be  no 
doubt  about  it,  —  she  stared.  All  her  preconceived 
plans  were  shattered.  She  had  accepted  from  and 
shown  this  person  a  graciousness  which  could  not 
be  retracted. 

She  tried  desperately  to  get  her  bearings,  and 
wondered  vaguely  if  frigidity  were  possible.  Miss 
Bagg's  manner  had  been  winning,  she  was  ex- 
tremely well-dressed,  and  she  possessed  a  great 
deal  of  money,  —  three  factors  of  importance  in 


844  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

deciding  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  opinion  of  any  one. 
Moreover,  Lydia  was  looking  at  her  with  real  and 
cordial  interest. 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  know  you  at  last,"  she  said. 
"  I  am  very  much  attached  to  your  son." 

It  so  happened  that  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  inimical 
feelings  were  all  just  now  roused  against  another 
person,  and  this  being  the  case  Miss  Bagg's  pleas- 
ant sincerity  won  the  day. 

"  We  ought  to  be  friends,"  she  answered,  hold- 
ing out  her  hand.  Lydia  returned  its  pressure 
heartily,  and  after  a  few  more  civil  words  left  the 
two  friends  together  and  went  into  the  house. 

"  I  have  come  up  here  outraged,"  said  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk  then,  turning  back  to  Olive.  "  Ida  Fuller  is 
engaged  to  Max.  What  do  you  think  of  that, 
Olive  Carlyle  ?  " 

The  poor  child's  heart  seemed  to  leap  to  her 
very  throat,  and  a  sharp  pain  leaped  with  it.  Had 
the  hope  been  buried  alive  ?  Pitiful  thought.  Now 
at  any  rate  it  was  dead  —  dead ! 

She  carried  herself  wonderfully  well,  however. 

"  I  thought  you  were  very  fond  of  her,"  she  re- 
plied. 

"  I  was  ;  but  I  am  thoroughly  angry  with  her 
now.  We  parted  in  anger  ;  she  was  as  insolent 
and  arrogant  as  ever.  My  poor  boy,  how  mistaken 
he  is ! " 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  lifted  her  rose-scented  handker- 
chief to  her  eyes. 

"  Don't  excite  yourself,  Cousin  Elinor,"  said 
Olive.  "  It  will  all  come  out  riffht." 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  345 

"  Max  is  so  deceived  in  her,"  continued  the 
mother.  "  I  object  to  the  match  on  the  score  of 
their  relationship,  but  I  object  still  more  on  the 
score  of  her  worldliness  and  triviality.  I  abhor 
worldliness.  How  handsome  you  are  growing 
Olive  !  "  The  addition  was  made  in  the  same  tone 
of  injury  which  had  led  up  to  it,  and  brought  a 
slight  smile  to  the  girl's  lips. 

"  You  see,"  continued  Mrs.  Van  Kirk,  "  I  have 
had  everything  to  bear.  We  met  a  millionaire  at 
St.  Augustine,  a  great  porpoise  of  a  creature  with 
scarcely  a  spear  of  hair,  —  unbearable.  Ida  made 
a  perfect  fool  of  that  man  ;  he  was  simply  silly 
about  her.  I  argued  with  her,  but  she  always 
laughed  me  off.  He  was  coarse,  he  was  dull,  but 
she  seemed  to  enjoy  leading  him  on.  The  infatu- 
ated creature  actually  followed  us  to  Old  Point 
Comfort,  where  we  have  been  the  last  two  weeks, 
and  Ida  welcomed  him  sweetly.  Well,  just  as  I 
had  resigned  myself  to  the  inevitable,  did  n't  that 
girl  calmly  come  in  one  day  and  tell  me  she  was 
engaged  to  Max  !  " 

The  speaker  looked  at  Olive,  who  shook  her 
head  in  silence. 

"  I  won't  bear  it.  I  won't  have  it.  I  '11  tell 
Max  all  about  that  poor,  swindled  oil  man.  Yes, 
he  was  an  oil  man  of  some  kind,  and  he  looked  it. 
I  '11  expose  Ida.  She  has  not  been  respectful  to 
me,  nor  dutiful  in  any  way.  If  it  comes  to  a  fight 
between  us  for  my  boy,  we  shall  see  who  will  win." 

"  She  will  win,"  said  Olive  briefly. 


346  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Why  do  you  say  that?  " 

"I  thought  long  ago  that  he  loved  her.  He 
will  believe  in  her.  You  might  as  well  resign 
yourself,  Cousin  Elinor." 

"  How  can  you  talk  so  cold-bloodedly  ?  But  it 
is  easy  enough  when  one  is  a  dispassionate  spec- 
tator. I  should  think  though,  Olive,"  —  reproach- 
fully, —  "  you  would  have  enough  interest  in  Max 
to  enter  into  my  feelings." 

"You  know  I  am  worse  than  helpless,  Cousin 
Elinor." 

"  Well,  I  do  not  admit  defeat  before  the  battle. 
Let  us  go  in  to  supper  now.  How  you  have  blos- 
somed out  this  year,  Olive !  " 

"  Nothing  but  fine  feathers,"  returned  the  girl. 
"  Cousin  Lydia  has  decked  me." 

"  Your  gown  is  in  perfect  taste,"  murmured  the 
other  with  melancholy  satisfaction.  "  Come,  let 
us  go  in." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

OLD   GUARD   PRIVILEGES. 

THE  next  morning  that  most  familiar  West 
Point  trio,  a  girl,  a  cadet,  and  a  parasol,  might  have 
been  seen  on  the  shaded  road  which  leads  up  to 
Fort  Putnam. 

Old  guard  privileges,  as  they  are  called,  consti- 
tute the  sugar  which  sweetens  the  pill  of  guard 
duty,  and  Mr.  Hemenway,  after  the  vigils  of  the 
night,  was  now  taking  his  recompense. 

Miss  Spencer  was  his  companion  on  the  winding 
walk. 

"  I  wish  these  rocks  and  trees  could  speak,"  she 
observed,  "  and  tell  us  of  some  of  the  things  and 
people  they  have  seen." 

*'  I  am  mighty  glad  they  can't,"  responded  Hem- 
enway promptly.  "  I  have  been  longing  to  get 
somewhere  where  I  could  n't  hear  anybody  speak 
but  you  for  a  while.  It  would  be  a  nice  state  of 
things  if  the  trees  and  rocks  should  commence." 

Bertha  looked  at  him.  "  My  young  Christian 
friend,  are  n't  you  interested  in  history  ?  " 

"  Not  a  little  bit." 

"  Think  how  your  forefathers  went  and  came  by 
this  very  road." 


348  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  That 's  all  right,"  returned  Hemenway,  equa- 
bly. "  They  had  their  innings ;  now  I  have 
mine." 

"  Think  of  their  anxieties,  their  hopes  and 
fears!" 

"  I  have  plenty  of  my  own,  thank  you.  I  am 
hoping  you  will  be  good  to  me  all  this  morning 
and  fearing  you  won't." 

He  looked  down  at  his  companion  with  a  half 
smile.  She  shook  her  head.  "  What  a  hopelessly 
unimaginative  man  you  are  !  "  she  said. 

'*  You  were  never  so  mistaken  in  your  life.  I 
can  imagine  all  sorts  of  pleasant  things,"  he  re- 
plied, looking  at  the  hint  of  a  blue  vein  in  her 
temple  and  the  blackness  of  her  cloudy  hair. 

Bertha  laughed.  "  It  would  be  amusing  to  hear 
what  sort  of  things  you  would  imagine,  I  am 
sure." 

"  Well,  I  can  imagine  that  you  might  take  my 
arm  now,  going  up  this  steep  place.  That  would 
be  pleasant  —  to  me." 

"  What  a  flight  of  fancy !  "  —  with  light  scorn. 
"  I  will  when  I  am  forty." 

"If  I  were  sure  you  would  when  you  were 
forty,"  replied  the  other  quickly,  "  I  'd  let  you  off 
now." 

"  What  do  you  suppose  I  heard  about  the  plebes 
last  night?"  asked  Bertha  with  sudden  and  re- 
proachful irrelevancy. 

"  I  don't  know  and  I  care  less,"  replied  Hemen- 
way, who  was  thoroughly  weary  of  this  harassing 
subject. 


OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES.  349 

His  companion  raised  her  dark  eyebrows. 

"  Would  it  be  too  much  to  ask  you  to  hold  that 
parasol  so  the  sun  would  not  come  directly  in  my 
eyes  ?  "  she  asked  deliberately  and  sweetly. 

"  Oh,  excuse  me."  Heinenway  tilted  the  parasol 
with  a  jerk. 

"  Thank  you,"  returned  Bertha.  They  had 
been  but  a  brief  moment  in  the  sunshine,  but  she 
had  known  how  to  make  hay  the  while.  Her  es- 
cort felt  convicted  of  both  brusqueness  and  care- 
lessness. 

"Such  strange  thoughts  suggest  themselves  to 
me  here,"  she  observed  after  a  moment  of  silence. 
"  Why  should  not  the  ghosts  of  Kosciusko,  Arnold, 
Andre,  and  all  the  rest  haunt  these  quiet  dells  ?  " 

Mr.  Hemenway  drew  a  long  breath.  "  Say,  if 
you  want  to  talk  about  the  plebes,  do.  They  're 
at  least  modern,"  he  ejaculated.  "  Let  us  have 
them  and  get  done  with  them." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  did  n't  sleep  enough  last 
night,"  suggested  Bertha.  "  I  pity  the  sentries,  if 
this  was  your  midnight  mood." 

"  Is  there  any  way  of  pleasing  you  ?  "  asked  her 
companion  plaintively. 

"  I  am  the  most  easily  pleased  person  in  the 
world,"  returned  Miss  Spencer  calmly.  "  I  simply 
don't  like  to  hear  that  when  it  rains  and  time 
hangs  heavy  on  the  cadets'  hands  in  camp,  they 
give  the  order  '  Turn  out  the  menagerie,'  and  all 
the  plebes  who  happen  to  have  names  to  fit  the 
parts  are  obliged  to  go  out  in  the  street  in  the 


350  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

rain  and  make  the  noises  and  give  the  action  of 
the  animals  they  represent." 

The  young  captain  forgot  himself  so  far  as  to 
laugh;  but,  seeing  the  awful  severity  in  Miss 
Spencer's  face,  sobered  at  once. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  who  in  thunder  tells 
you  all  these  things,"  he  said  with  exasperation. 
"Some  fool  of  a  yearling,  I  suppose.  What  do 
you  expect  me  to  do  about  it  ?  " 

"  Prevent  it." 

"  Nonsense.  You  ought  to  know  I  can't.  As 
it  is,  I  have  half  the  corps  down  on  me.  You 
always  talk  as  though  I  were  the  only  officer  in  the 
whole  institution." 

"  So  you  are,  to  me,"  said  the  girl,  with  an  up- 
ward glance  which  utterly  demolished  her  com- 
panion's wrath.  His  face  flushed  and  he  gazed 
at  her,  dumb. 

"  And  if  the  rest  only  knew  what  a  bear  you  are 
they  would  add  you  to  the  menagerie,"  she  con- 
tinued, smiling.  "  The  next  time  I  take  a  walk 
with  an  officer  of  the  day  on  old  guard  privileges 
you  will  know  it.  Don't  you  wish  you  could  whip 
out  your  list  and  write  down  :  Spencer,  B.  Inso- 
lence to  superior  officer  on  the  road  to  Fort  Put- 
nam ?  " 

"  If  I  did  that  every  time  you  deserved  it,"  re- 
turned Hemenway,  reluctantly  smiling, "  you  would 
be  '  found  on  demerit '  before  camp  breaks.  Look 
here,  Miss  Baby,  for  an  O.  D.  on  O.  G.  P.  I  think 
I  'in  having  a  pretty  hard  time.  I  've  strained  a 


OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES.  351 

point  for  those  —  Dutch  hotel  plebes,  and  you  know 
why.  For  heaven's  sake  don't  let  them  spoil  any 
more  of  the  half  hours  I  get  alone  with  you.  Is  n't 
there  any  other  downtrodden  biped  on  the  post  we 
can  take  for  a  change  ?  How  about  the  orderlies  ? 
Do  you  think  they  receive  sufficient  consideration  ?  " 

"  I  saw  one  nearly  run  over  by  the  color-bearer 
at  cavalry  drill  day  before  yesterday,"  remarked 
Miss  Spencer.  "  My  heart  stopped  beating." 

"  Let  them  keep  out  of  the  way,  then." 

"  Precisely.  You  looked  about  as  moved  as 
that.  I  think  you  all  turn  savage  when  you  are 
mounted."  Miss  Spencer  burst  into  an  infectious 
laugh.  "The  other  morning  Miss  Bagg  and  I 
came  out  of  the  library,  and  as  we  touched  the  cav- 
alry plain  we  noticed  the  horses  coming,  but  we 
thought  of  course  the  riders  would  look  out  for  us. 
Not  a  bit  of  it.  We  seemed  to  be  invisible.  Those 
monsters  were  nearly  upon  us,  and  I  tell  you  we 
dropped  our  dignity  and  picked  up  our  little  skirts 
and  skedaddled.  No  other  word  would  describe  it. 
We  did  n't  run ;  we  just  skedaddled.  Truly,  I 
think  you  were  lovely  about  the  plebes,"  she  added, 
suddenly  dropping  her  voice.  "  I  heard  about  it." 

Hemenway  brightened  visibly.  "Then  if  I 
promise  to  induce  the  tac  to  stop  the  drill  and 
clear  the  plain  when  an  orderly  wants  to  cross, 
and  always  salute  a  plebe  when  I  meet  him,  may 
we  leave  the  subject  and  talk  about  the  weather  ?  " 

"  About  the  view  !  "  cried  Bertha,  for  they  had 
now  emerged  at  the  fort.  "  Why,  you  can  see  the 


352  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

whole  of  Picturesque  America,"  she  added  delight- 
edly. 

"  It  is  a  first-rate  day  for  it,"  returned  Hemen- 
way.  "  That  is  the  line  of  the  Catskills  yonder." 

Bertha  gazed  in  silence.  The  river  wound 
among  the  Highlands  for  miles  in  both  directions. 
The  buildings  of  the  post  lay  far  below,  and  occa- 
sionally a  toy  horse  and  wagon  crossed  between 
the  plains. 

"  Now  you  see  the  way  the  barracks  appear  to 
the  angels,"  remarked  Hemenway,  looking  down  at 
the  hollow  square. 

"  It  ought  to  make  angels  of  you  all  to  live  in 
such  a  beautiful  place,"  replied  his  companion. 

"  See  these  dungeons,"  said  Hemenway,  turning 
and  leading  her  to  the  series  of  deep  vaults  in  the 
side  of  the  mountain. 

"  Are  they  ?  Do  you  suppose  they  were  ?  " 
asked  the  girl  eagerly. 

"  Either  that  or  shelter  for  troops." 

"  Oh,  they  're  so  dark  and  deep.  I  don't  believe 
they  were  quarters.  I  would  ever  so  much  rather 
think  they  were  dungeons." 

The  cadet  raised  his  eyebrows.  It  was  slightly 
contradictory  that  this  idea  contained  a  relish  for 
the  young  woman  whose  heart  was  wrung  by  the 
fact  that  a  homesick  plebe  should  be  forced  to 
spell  his  name  backward  with  a  punctilious  "  Sir  " 
after  each  letter,  but  he  wisely  refrained  from  try- 
ing to  understand  it.  He  had  learned  that  the  in- 
tricacies of  the  feminine  mind  lay  as  far  above  the 


OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES.  353 

complications  of  higher  mathematics  as  Fort  Put- 
nam above  the  barracks. 

"  All  right,"  he  returned.  "  I  did  n't  know  as  I 
had  better  admit  the  dungeon  theory,  for  fear  you 
would  demand  that  I  should  produce  all  the  red- 
coat prisoners  and  make  it  up  to  them  somehow." 

Bertha  looked  at  him,  her  thoughtful  gaze  seem- 
ing to  see  beyond  him.  "  Think  of  being  locked 
in  one  of  those  —  alone  at  night  —  away  up  here  !  " 
she  said  fearfully. 

Hemenway  watched  her,  slightly  smiling.  "  I 
am  thinking,"  he  said. 

After  a  moment's  silence  her  gaze  suddenly  with- 
drew and  met  his.  She  made  a  little  movement 
toward  him.  "  Oh,  I  would  so  much  rather  be 
here  in  the  bright  sunshine  and  safe  with  you !  " 
she  exclaimed. 

Instantly  the  pretty  parasol  was  on  the  ground, 
and  Hemenway  had  both  her  hands  in  his. 

"  My  parasol !  My  parasol !  "  she  cried,  start- 
ing back,  blushing  furiously  and  half-laughing,  for 
the  beribboned  thing  was  careering  gayly  over  the 
wind-swept  height. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  particulars  regarding 
the  locality  of  the  hotel  in  Holland  were  explicitly 
stated  by  Mr.  Hemenway  as  he  "double-timed" 
after  the  sunshade.  It  was  as  saucy  and  gay  in 
appearance  as  its  mistress,  and,  he  believed,  shared 
her  characteristics.  Any  other  girl's  parasol  would 
have  lain  where  it  fell  and  allowed  him  to  improve 
his  one  golden  opportunity.  He  anathematized 


354  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

the  total  depravity  of  inanimate  objects  in  general 
and  this  one  in  particular,  as  the  silken  thing,  after 
it  had  done  all  the  mischief  necessary,  stopped 
whirling  far  short  of  the  crumbling  parapet  and 
lay  there,  flying  its  ribbons  like  little  flags  of  tri- 
umph. 

Bertha  laughed,  looking  mischievous  and  rosy  as 
he  returned,  and  there  was  no  recalling  that  mo- 
ment in  which  of  her  own  accord  she  had  drawn 
close  to  him. 

"  /  may  be  safe  with  you,  but  my  belongings 
are  n't,"  she  laughed.  "  I  can  hold  that,  if  it  is  too 
much  for  you.  Why,  you  have  n't  an  idea  how 
savage  you  look.  Out  with  that  list  again  and  put 
down  something  about  Spencer  B.'s  insubordinate 
parasol !  What  do  I  hear  ?  "  she  asked  suddenly, 
"  that  queer,  deep  noise  ?  " 

"  Frogs,"  replied  the  cadet  captain,  who  was  in 
a  mood  for  sententious  speech. 

"  Frogs  ?  A  likely  story.  I  suppose  you  have 
marshes  in  such  a  perfect  state  of  discipline  here 
that  they  come  up  on  the  mountain  tops." 

"  There  is  an  old  well  over  there  belonging  to 
the  fort.  The  frogs  monopolize  it  now." 

"  How  interesting  !  What  tremendous  voices ! 
Let  us  go  quietly  and  see  if  we  can't  see  them. 
Now,  don't  you  make  the  least  noise." 

So  Hemenway  was  obliged  to  steal  along  with 
the  quiet  of  a  scout,  beside  his  companion,  as 
though  his  life  depended  on  seeing  the  green-coated 
vocalists  who  were  chorusing  before  high  heaven. 


OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES.  355 

Perched  on  rocks,  about  a  deep,  quiet  pool,  were 
frogs  of  great  size  and  lung-power.  As  Bertha 
and  her  escort  approached,  the  cadet  stepped  on  a 
dry  twig.  At  the  crackling  sound  she  put  out  her 
hand  involuntarily.  Promptly  he  grasped  it,  at 
the  same  time  tightening  his  hold  on  the  parasol. 
It  should  not  foil  him  again.  The  girl's  cheeks 
reddened.  She  tried  to  withdraw  her  imprisoned 
hand,  but  in  vain.  She  gave  her  companion  a 
magnificent  frown,  which  said  plainer  than  words : 
"  Unhand  me,  villain."  It  had  not  the  slightest 
effect. 

After  a  "  ker-chug,  ker-chug  "  of  the  most  pon- 
derous basso-profundo,  one  after  another  of  the 
performers  dove  into  the  water  with  a  resounding 
splash.  Bertha  devoted  her  eager  attention  to  the 
pool.  One  huge  frog  still  sat  on  a  rock,  swelling 
his  throat  and  uttering  his  croak  with  the  most  ab- 
surd seriousness.  Hemenway  took  advantage  of 
her  preoccupation  to  turn  her  hand  and  without 
relinquishing  it  to  draw  it  within  his  arm.  So 
they  stood  beneath  the  parasol,  facing  the  intrepid 
frog,  which,  as  though  claiming  his  prior  right  to 
the  place,  continued  to  swell  and  to  bellow  until  he 
suggested  JEsop's  hero. 

Miss  Spencer's  face  indicated  that  she  was  una- 
ware of  leaning  on  her  companion's  arm.  She 
finally  burst  into  an  irrepressible  laugh. 

"  Oh,  you  absurd  thing !  "  she  cried  apostrophiz- 
ing the  frog,  "  I  do  believe  you  think  you  're  sing- 
ing. You  are  like  the  countryman  who  wanted  to 


356  MISS  BAGG'S  SECHETAEY. 

play  Hamlet,  —  *  you  have  the  feelin's,  but  you 
have  n't  the  figger.' " 

The  vocalist  had  not  remained  to  receive  this 
insult.  At  the  peal  of  laughter  he  gave  one  glare 
from  his  bright  eyes,  and  with  a  "  chug  "  and  a 
splash  was  gone,  while  the  ripples  widened  to  the 
water's  edge. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  such  a  big  thing  ?  "  asked 
Bertha,  looking  up.  "  Now,  perhaps  frogs  ought 
not  to  live  in  marshes  after  all,"  she  added,  seri- 
ously. 

"  Perhaps  not,"  returned  Hemenway,  with  docil- 
ity, looking  down  from  under  his  heavy  lashes  into 
her  upturned  eyes,  whose  stars  had  seldom  shone 
so  near  him. 

"  You  know  how  it  is  about  pigs,"  she  pursued. 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  he  murmured,  wishing  the  liand 
he  was  clasping  was  not  gloved. 

"  Well,  what  is  it,  if  you  know  ?  "  she  asked. 

"I  —  a  —  well  —  I  —  you  tell  me." 

"  I  suspected  you  did  n't  know  a  tiling  about  it. 
Why,  they  say  that  pigs  —  is  n't  it  queer  that  you 
don't  care  anything  for  history,  and  yet  are  so  in- 
terested in  natural  history?"  She  dropped  her 
head  back  and  looked  at  him  innocently. 

"  I  shall  kiss  her  if  she  does  that  again,"  thought 
Hemenway.  "  I  can't  help  it." 

"  I  was  always  that  way,  from  a  child,"  he  re- 
turned aloud,  "  and  if  there  is  one  thing  I  always 
did  dote  on,  it  is  pigs." 

"  Why,  they  say  they  flourish  so  much  better  if 


OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES.  357 

they  have  a  clean  home  and  clean  food,  you  know," 
said  Miss  Spencer.  "Now,  perhaps  frogs  ought 
to  live  on  mountain-tops  instead  of  in  bogs.  Just 
see  how  they  grow  —  and  —  and  —  croak.  Now, 
that  is  all,  Mr.  Hemenway,"  she  added,  biting  her 
lip,  her  cheeks  burning.  "The  class  in  natural 
history  is  dismissed." 

She  tried  firmly  to  draw  her  hand  away,  but  he 
held  it. 

"  I  shall  tell  the  commandant  that  you  must  n't 
act  O.  D.  any  more.  The  loss  of  sleep  affects  your 
brain." 

"  You  gave  it  to  me,  Bertha,"  he  said  hurriedly, 
as  pale  as  she  was  flushed.  "  Don't  take  it  back. 
Let  me  keep  it  forever.  You  know  I  love  you." 

"  Oh,  no !  "  she  exclaimed,  the  words  coming 
thickly  through  her  quickened  breathing. 

He  released  her,  and  she  stood  away,  her  eyes 
downcast,  so  utterly  changed  from  the  saucy, 
nonchalant  girl  who  had  amused  herself  with  him 
for  years,  that  he  felt  a  pang  of  remorse.  She 
looked  so  small  and  sweet  and  precious  to  him. 

"  Do  forgive  me,"  he  begged.  "  I  feel  as  though 
I  had  taken  an  unfair  advantage  of  you  to  bring 
you  up  here  away  from  everybody  and  tell  you 
this."  He  came  close  to  her  as  he  spoke  contritely. 
"  Do  forgive  me." 

"  You  —  you  could  n't  very  well  have  said  it 
before  everybody,"  she  answered  slowly. 

"  That  is  it,"  he  exclaimed  fervently.  "  Of 
course  I  could  n't.  You  always  were  the  most 


358  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

sensible,  reasonable  girl  in  the  world.     Let  us  sit 
down  over  here." 

They  moved  to  a  high  knoll  covered  all  about 
and  far  down  the  steep  with  thousands  of  golden- 
hearted  daisies,  and  seated  themselves  on  the  side 
most  guarded  from  the  strong,  sweet  wind. 

Hemenway  shielded  her  with  the  parasol  and 
looked  at  her  anxiously.  Her  white  silk  blouse 
was  fastened  with  pins  whose  heads  were  little 
turquoise-bodied,  diamond-winged  flies.  Hemen- 
way always  afterward  connected  his  anxiety  with 
those  tiny  jewels,  and  never  saw  them  without  re- 
calling it.  He  did  not  know  what  her  look  meant. 
She  gazed  off  at  the  fair  picture  in  silence. 

"  You  have  n't  said  whether  you  forgive  me," 
he  reminded  her  presently. 

She  gave  the  slightest  smile.  "Let  me  see." 
She  broke  a  daisy. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that  ?  " 

Bertha  looked  straight  into  his  anxious  eyes. 
"  Why,  don't  you  know  '  He  loves  me,  he  loves  me 
not ' "?  "  she  inquired  softly. 

"  No,  I  only  know  he  loves  you." 

"  Oh,  the  daisy  knows  best  —  always." 

"  I  know  better  than  any  daisy  on  the  fort, 
Bertha.  Say,  do  you  mind  if  I  call  you  Bertha  ?  " 

"  Two  things  to  find  out  from  the  daisies,"  she 
returned.  "  Let  us  see  first  if  you  may  call  me 
Bertha."  She  pulled  off  the  petals  one  by  one,  — 
"  May,  may  not,  may,"  she  finished,  and  gave  him 
another  little  smile. 


OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES.  359 

"And  I  know  you  forgive  me  without  tearing 
another  flower  to  pieces,"  he  said,  for  her  eyes 
were  soft  and  dreamy,  and  the  little  stars  were 
quenched. 

"  It  all  depends  on  how  you  behave  hereafter," 
she  answered. 

He  could  not  understand  her,  and  after  giving 
her  one  more  troubled  look  he  too  gazed  off  at  the 
landscape,  and  tried  to  console  himself  with  the  fact 
that  a  fold  of  her  dress  lay  upon  his  hand.  He 
had  never  supposed  she  did  care  for  him,  and  he 
had  not  intended  to  tell  his  love  to-day. 

He  believed  now  that  she  felt  very  kindly  toward 
him  as  her  brother's  classmate  and  intimate  friend, 
and  because  he  loved  in  vain.  He  supposed  the 
latter  fact  always  appealed  to  women.  He  had 
never  seen  her  in  such  a  soft  mood  as  the  present, 
but  she  had  gently  given  him  to  understand  that 
he  must  speak  no  further,  and  he  was  not  in  danger 
of  doing  so,  for  he  was  the  sort  of  man  whose 
un  worthiness  in  his  own  eyes  is  magnified  by  a 
woman's  rejection  of  him. 

"  Is  n't  this  heavenly  ?  "  she  said  at  last. 

"  It  might  be,"  he  answered. 

"  Oh ; "  she  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  turned 
her  head  away,  smiling  across  at  the  other  moun- 
tains as  though  to  call  upon  them  to  witness  that 
similar  stupidity  had  never  existed  on  earth.  She 
slowly  drew  her  gloves  off,  and  reaching  out  one 
white  hand  broke  another  daisy. 

"  Are   you   as   much   interested    hi   botany   as 


3GO  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

you   are   in   natural   history  ? "  she  inquired,  de- 
murely. 

"  If  I  held  your  hand  while  you  told  me  about 
it  I  dare  say  I  should  be." 

"  You  may." 

"What  did  you  say?"  ejaculated  Hemenway, 
sitting  up. 

"  I  said  you  might." 

He  looked  at  her  hand.  It  had  a  small  moon- 
stone ring  on  its  third  finger,  and  looked  as  inoffen- 
sive as  a  little  hand  may.  Bertha  gave  him  a  side 
glance,  and  bit  the  daisy  stem  in  order  not  to 
smile. 

"Well,  why  don't  you?"  she  said  indistinctly. 

Hemenway  reached  out  his  hand  slowly  and  took 
hers.  Its  touch  made  the  view  heavenly  in  an  in- 
stant. "  Bertha,"  he  said,  and  his  big  voice  trem- 
bled. "  I  want  to  kiss  your  hand  —  once." 

Her  eyes  filled  with  quick  tears.  "  Well,  what 
a  goose  you  are  to  tell  me  so  !  " 

Her  companion  looked  at  her,  supremely  be- 
wildered. What  were  section-room  problems  to 
this? 

His  strong  grasp  tightened  on  the  little  hand. 

"You  don't  know  what  it  is  to  me,"  he  said, 
and  he  was  pale,  "  or  you  would  not  make  so  light 
of  it." 

"I  am  not  maEing  light  of  it.     There  are  — 
some  things  —  a  man  —  should  n't  ask  for."   Here 
the  little  catches  in  her  breath  became  sobs,  and 
Miss  Spencer  buried  her  face  in  her  handkerchief. 


OLD  GUARD  PRIVILEGES.  361 

"  What  have  I  done  !  "  exclaimed  her  distracted 
companion,  uncertain  whether  to  jump  into  the 
frog-pond  or  to  throw  himself  over  the  parapet ; 
restrained  from  either  move  only  by  the  fact  that 
to  accomplish  it  he  would  have  to  drop  the  hand 
which  was  fluttering  in  his.  "  I  have  been  an 
awful  brute  somehow,  but  indeed  I  don't  know 
how,"  he  continued  miserably.  "  Miss  Baby ! 
Dear,  darling  Bertha,  do  tell  me  what  I  ought  not 
to  have  asked  for  !  " 

"To  kiss  —  my  hand,"  came  from  the  depths 
of  the  handkerchief.  "  I  always  said  you  were 
such  a  heav  —  heav  —  heavy  man." 

Hemenway's  head  swam.  He  felt  that  he  was 
an  idiot  and  had  always  been  one,  but  it  certainly 
was  n't  his  fault ;  he  must  have  been  born  so  ;  and 
he  was  able  to  gather  just  enough  sense  together 
to  kiss  fervently  the  hand  that  he  held. 

Miss  Spencer  was  nervous  and  overcome,  but 
she  had  no  intention  of  crying  to  an  unbecoming 
extent,  so  when  her  palm  was  rosier  than  ever 
from  Hemenway's  kisses,  she  dried  her  eyes  and 
averted  her  head  again. 

"  Bertha,"  he  said,  drawing  so  near  that  a  bell- 
button  grazed  her  shoulder,  "  I  know  I  'm  a  heavy 
fellow  ;  slow,  stupid ;  but  I  don't  understand, 
dear.  What  else  is  it  a  man  should  n't  ask  for  ? 
Would  you  rather  I  asked  a  daisy  than  you  if  you 
love  me  ?  " 

The  girl's  face  turned  slowly  back  to  him.  "  I 
know  better  than  any  daisy  on  the  fort,"  she  an« 


362  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

swered,  looking  down  with  the  little  smile  he  had 
always  found  bewitching. 

"  Then,  for  heaven's  sake  "  — he  began  beseech- 
ingly. 

She  lifted  her  lids.  "  How  could  I  love  such  a 
slow  —  slow" — It  was  the  last  roll  of  the  hap- 
less mouse  under  the  soft,  malicious  paw,  for  sud- 
denly the  face  so  near  him  came  nearer.  She 
yielded  to  him  irresistibly.  Hemenway  caught 
her  in  his  arms  and  — 

Well,  it  was  a  blessed  dispensation  that  for  the 
next  hour  no  other  beauty-lover  sought  the  heights 
of  Fort  Putnam.  The  daisies  nodded  and  waved 
in  snowy  billows,  while  the  wind  that  swept  them 
paused  and  murmured  in  the  trees ;  but  there  was 
no  room  there  for  another  human  soul,  for  Olym- 
pus had  a  rival  now  in  Mount  Independence,  and 
not  all  the  entertainments  of  the  gods  could  have 
vied  in  Hemenway's  eyes  with  his  "old  guard 
privileges." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

MRS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION. 

Miss  BAGG  happened  to  be  returning  from  a 
walk  with  one  of  her  new  friends,  when  Mr.  Hem- 
enway  and  Miss  Spencer  slowly  approached  the 
hotel. 

Mrs.  Mackenzie,  her  companion,  smiled  and 
said,  nodding  in  the  direction  of  the  pair :  "  That 
seems  to  be  a  desperate  flirtation,  but  perhaps  it  is 
one  of  the  serious  affairs.  Miss  Spencer  is  a  very 
fascinating  girl." 

These  remarks  aroused  Lydia's  fears.  After 
she  had  parted  from  her  friend  she  lingered  on  the 
piazza  and  cast  anxious  glances  down  toward  the 
hedge,  where  Bertha's  parasol  ribbons  were  flutter- 
ing, not  with  their  late  defiant  expression,  but  in 
subdued  little  ripples,  as  though  they  had  been 
affected  by  the  version  of  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew  "  enacted  lately  on  the  heights. 

She  was  not  reassured  by  the  length  of  time  the 
cadet  captain  held  Miss  Spencer's  hand  at  parting, 
nor  afterwards  by  the  expression  of  the  girl's  face 
when  she  finally  approached  and  ran  up  the  steps. 

"  I  thought  you  were  never  coming,"  said  Miss 
Bagg,  her  anxiety  making  her  voice  a  little  sharp. 


3G4  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  What  could  you  have  to  say  to  each  other  so 
long?" 

"  Entirely  unfit  for  repetition,"  replied  Bertha. 

"  It  must  be  repeated,"  exclaimed  Miss  B;i 

There  was  no  one  on  the  heated  piazza  but  tlu-in- 
selves,  and  Miss  Spencer  completed  Lydia's 
demoralization  by  putting  her  arms  around  her 
chaperon's  neck  and  kissing  her  gently. 

Bertha  was  not  of  the  caressing  sort.  Miss 
Bagg  pushed  her  off  and  gazed  into  her  radiant 
face  with  frightened  eyes.  "  Oh  you  thoughtless 
wicked  girl  what  have  you  done  !  "  she  ejaculated, 
without  punctuation.  . "  I  feel  something  in  the 
air." 

"  I  should  think  you  would,"  returned  Bertha, 
"  for  the  air  is  full  of  it.  Are  n't  you  going  to 
congratulate  me  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed.  Not  for  a  minute,"  cried  poor 
Lydia.  The  battalion  as  a  whole  was  utterly  ad- 
mirable, composed  of  a  lot  of  heroes  in  the  ab- 
stract, but  to  have  one  individual  appear  in  the 
light  of  a  lover,  and  that  with  one  of  the  precious 
girls  intrusted  to  her  care,  was  wholly  a  different 
matter. 

"  What  do  you  know  about  him  ?  "  she  went  on 
excitedly.  "  What  was  he  before  he  passed  under 
the  hands  of  the  cadet  barber  and  tailor?  You 
know  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  so  deceptive  as 
a  cadet  in  his  fourth  year.  They  're  such  gentle- 
men then,  no  matter  how  they  commenced.  You 
can't  guess  where  they  came  from.  Have  you  any 
idea  who  he  belongs  to  ?  " 


MRS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION.  365 

"  A  very  distinct  idea.  He  belongs  to  me,"  an- 
swered the  girl. 

"  Oh,  what  will  your  mother  say  to  me  ?  I  have 
been  so  remiss.  I  ought  to  have  had  my  eyes 
open.  I  ought  to  have  been  studying  character 
instead  of  chevrons,  human  nature  instead  of  tac- 
tics," mourned  poor  Lydia,  waxing  eloquent  as  the 
enormity  of  her  offense  grew  upon  her. 

Even  Bertha's  love  for  teasing  could  endure 
no  more.  "No  one  will  blame  you,  Miss  Bagg," 
she  said  with  extraordinary  gentleness.  "You 
could  n't  possibly  have  helped  it.  It  was  one  of 
the  things  to  be." 

"  I  could  have  left  the  place  weeks  ago." 

"  And  made  me  wretched,"  declared  the  girl. 

"  No  matter  about  that." 

"  How  hard-hearted  you  are,"  said  Bertha,  smil- 
ing, "  and  we  all  thought  you  were  such  a  friend 
to  the  cadets.  Now  I  can  set  your  fears  at  rest, 
for  Mr.  Hemenway  is  an  especial  favorite  with 
my  mother,  and  we  know  all  about  his  family." 

Here  Miss  Bagg  gave  the  speaker  a  vigorous 
shake. 

"  You  naughty  girl,  why  did  n't  you  tell  me  that 
in  the  first  place  ?  "  she  exclaimed  nervously. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  chance  you  gave 
me,"  laughed  Bertha. 

"  There,  now,  I  '11  kiss  you,"  said  Lydia ;  and  she 
did,  after  which  she  inspected  the  girl's  bright 
eyes.  "  So  you  are  going  to  marry  a  second  lieu- 
tenant and  starve,  are  you  ?  Well,  so  would  I  in 


366  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY.^ 

your  place,  —  but  don't  you  tell  Olive  that.  My ! 
How  I  arn  going  to  watch  Olive  !  " 

"  Are  you,  indeed  ?  "  inquired  that  young  lady, 
suddenly  coming  in  sight.  "  Then  you  will  see  me  at 
the  dinner-table  shortly.  Are  n't  you  coming  in  ?  " 

"  I  guess  you  won't  care  much  for  dinner  when 
you  know  what  has  happened,"  remarked  Miss 
Bagg. 

"  What  has  ?  "  asked  Miss  Carlyle  curiously, 
gazing  at  Bertha,  who  certainly  looked  a  little  odd. 

"  This  girl  is  engaged  to  that  splendid  Hemen- 
way  —  and  I  want  you  to  understand,  Olive,  that 
I  am  very,  very  displeased,"  added  Lydia  hastily ; 
but  the  cautious  addition  was  lost,  for  Olive  and 
Bertha  were  in  each  other's  arms  and  looking  into 
one  another's  tear-wet  eyes. 

"  Are  you  going  to  be  good  to  him  ? "  was 
Olive's  not  unnatural  first  question. 

"  I  don't  know.  I  am  almost  afraid  to  change 
my  tactics,"  replied  Bertha,  "they  have  worked 
so  well." 

"  You  '11  have  to.  Everything  will  be  changed 
now." 

"  Since  when  have  you  become  so  wise  ?  "  asked 
Miss  Spencer.  "  But  I  'm  not  afraid,"  she  added, 
"  I  'm  only  —  happy." 

"  Hush,  hush !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Bagg,  as  the 
girls  kissed  each  other  for  the  second  time.  "  I 
cau't  have  Olive  listening  to  any  such  thing. 
Olive  Carlyle,  attend  to  me.  I  forbid  your  going 
4o  walk  with  Mr.  Spencer  —  anywhere  —  for  the 


MBS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION.  367 

rest  of  our  stay ;  that  is,  unless  your  mother  will 
come  up  again.  Do  you  hear  ?  " 

Miss  Carlyle  colored  a  little  because  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's sister  was  looking  at  her,  but  she  smiled  as 
she  replied :  — 

"  Mr.  Spencer  is  the  safest  person  in  the  world 
for  you  to  let  me  go  about  with.  He  can  never 
fall  in  love  seriously  until  he  leaves  the  academy. 
He  has  n't  time.  I  never  saw  anybody  drawn  in 
so  many  different  directions,  and  he  shows  positive 
genius  in  his  manner  of  distributing  himself  in  a 
way  to  keep  the  social  peace." 

"  Let  him  keep  on  distributing,  then,"  said  Miss 
Bagg  shortly.  "  I  would  n't  have  him  dangling 
after  a  girl  under  my  care  for  any  consideration. 
The  woman  does  n't  live  who  could  say  'No'  to 
him." 

Bertha  laughed.  "Miss  Bagg  is  true  to  her 
colors.  By  the  way,  speaking  of  colors,  did  you 
ever  realize  what  a  regular  Solomon  of  wisdom  the 
Judge  is,  Olive  ?  It  occurred  to  me  yesterday 
how  remarkably  foresighted  that  wonderful  bird 
was  when  he  chose  his  plumage.  Now  he  escapes 
having  to  be  painted  over,  you  see,  for  he  already 
wears  the  most  irreproachable  gray  and  white, 
with  a  red  sash,  and  has  little  bell-buttons  for  eyes. 
Oh,  trust  the  Judge !  " 

"  What  an  absurd  girl  you  are,"  exclaimed  Ly- 
dia,  and,  with  one  of  her  laughing  companions  on 
each  side  of  her,  she  permitted  herself  to  be  led 
into  the  house. 


368  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  We  '11  see  him  carrying  arms,  yet,  Olive,"  pur- 
sued Bertha.  "Shall  you  say  '  Kerry  —  h'mp,' 
Miss  Bagg?"  she  added,  mimicking  the  cramped 
pronunciation  usually  affected  by  the  officer-in- 
charge  at  parade. 

It  happened  that  Hemenway  went  to  the  adju- 
tant's tent  several  times  before  he  found  his  friend, 
but  at  last  they  met. 

"  Hello !  "  was  Spencer's  greeting.  "  Where 
were  you  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Fort  Put." 

"  With  whom  ?  " 

"  Your  sister." 

The  adjutant  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  Well, 
are  you  all  there  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  Babe 's  a  bit  rough  on  you.  Every  man 
to  his  taste,  but  it  strikes  me  I  would  spoon  some- 
body a  little  more  — well,  reciprocal." 

The  cadet  captain's  impassive  face  broke  into  a 
smile. 

"  You  stick  to  things  you  know  something  about, 
Ralph." 

"  Well,  I  rather  thought  spooning  "  — 

"  But  you  never  spooned  your  sister." 

"  Yes,  I  have,  once  in  a  while.  Nice  little  girl, 
Babe,  when  her  quills  are  n't  up." 

"  She  is  a  nice  little  girl,"  answered  Hemenway 
slowly  and  emphatically. 

"  Well,  it  is  nothing  but  the  contrariness  of  hu- 
man nature  that  makes  you  think  so,  old  fellow," 


MRS.  FULLEB'S  ACCUSATION.  369 

said  his  friend.  "  Seriously,  Hemenway,  you  're  a 
trump,  and  I  hate  to  see  you  skipping  everybody 
else  for  Babe  and  following  her  up  in  that  persis- 
tent, steady  way  of  yours." 

The  other  showed  his  white  teeth  again.  "  She 
says  I  am  such  a  heavy  man,"  he  remarked  remi- 
niscently. 

"  That  is  the  point,  you  see,"  returned  Spencer, 
gesturing  with  earnestness.  "  She  can't  appreci- 
ate you,  and  she  never  will.  You  're  not  her  style." 

"  Oh,  do  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  is  it,"  said  Spencer  again,  trying  to 
make  his  statement  as  little  trying  as  possible. 
'•  Now,  take  Miss  Carlyle  ;  she  is  one  of  the  lofty, 
serious  natures  that  might.  But  Babe  isn't  seri- 
ous ;  nobody  can  make  her  serious.  I  would  neg- 
lect her  a  little  if  I  were  you." 

"  Would  you  ?  "  Hemenway  laughed  aloud  ; 
then  he  held  out  his  hand,  and  his  happy  eyes 
met  his  friend's.  "  Can't  you  see  that  I  've  made 
a  max,  old  fellow  ?  Shake." 

"  Wha-wha-what  ?  "  gasped  Spencer,  clasping 
the  proffered  hand. 

"  Yes,  I  can't  allow  you  to  run  down  that  young 
lady  any  longer.  She  belongs  to  me." 

"  Well  —  I  — will  —  be  —  hung !  "  asseverated 
the  adjutant,  with  a  muscular  hand-shake  at  each 
pause. 

"  Then  if  it  is  n't  my  duty  to  run  her  down,  as  I 
thought  it  was,"  he  added,  when  he  had  recovered 
his  breath,  "  I  don't  mind  telling  you  the  truth, 


370  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

• 
and  that  is  that  Babe  is  an  immense  girl,  —  simply 

immense.  This  last  performance  of  hers  settles  it. 
I  have  felt  like  ducking  her  in  the  river  a  dozen 
times  since  she  came,  but  I  '11  forgive  her  now. 
The  tables  are  turned.  You  tyrannize  awhile  now, 
Hemenway  ;  it  will  do  her  good." 

"  I  am  going  to  try  to  deserve  her,  Spencer," 
said  the  other  earnestly.  "  I  am  half  afraid  still 
that  it  is  a  dream." 

"  Well,  I  'm  happy,"  declared  the  adjutant,  with 
one  final  shake  of  his  friend's  hand. 

"  You  don't  know  the  first  syllable  of  the  word 
yet,"  answered  the  other  in  such  a  heartfelt  tone 
that  Spencer  looked  at  him  curiously. 

"  That 's  right,"  he  said  at  last ;  "  I  like  to  see  a 
man  go  the  whole  figure.  You  are  in  luck  and  so 
is  Babe  ;  I  '11  tell  her  so  when  I  see  her." 

And  he  did. 

All  this  time  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  was  watching  every 
boat  and  train,  expecting  the  arrival  of  her  son 
and  nursing  her  wrath  against  his  fiance'e.  With 
each  succeeding  hour  the  "  oil  man  "  grew  more 
gross  in  appearance  and  uncouth  of  manner,  and 
Ida's  treatment  of  her  aunt  more  inexcusable,  in 
the  tale  she  meant  to  tell  Max. 

Meanwhile  Max  had  returned  to  New  York 
from  a  little  unexpected  trip  he  had  been  obliged 
to  make,  and  before  starting  for  West  Point  he 
concluded  to  drop  in  at  the  house  in  Twenty-fourth 
Street  to  see  if  there  were  any  message  he  might 
take  to  Olive. 


MBS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION.  371 

It  was  a  very  warm  day.  When  he  ran  up  the 
steps  he  found  the  house-door  open.  He  was 
about  to  ring  when  a  voice,  clear,  low-pitched,  fa- 
miliar, struck  upon  his  ear  and  caused  his  hand  to 
drop  as  though  it  had  been  paralyzed.  It  was  Mrs. 
Fuller's  distinct  enunciation  which  arrested  him. 

The  parlor  door  was  ajar. 

"  But  I  must  see  Olive,"  he  heard  her  say. 

He  pulled  open  the  screen  door  and  walked  into 
the  house  and  into  the  parlor.  Ida  and  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle  were  standing  confronting  one  another,  and 
Mrs.  Fuller's  face  showed  repressed  excitement. 

Upon  Van  Kirk's  entrance  a  light  of  anger  and 
suspicion  flashed  in  her  eyes. 

He  murmured  some  greeting  and  offered  his 
cousin  his  hand.  She  seemed  not  to  see  it. 

"  You  will  be  as  disappointed  as  I  am,"  she  said 
slowly,  smiling.  "  Olive  is  not  here." 

"How  do  you  do,  Max?"  Mrs.  Carlyle's 
cheeks  had  a  little  color,  but  her  voice  sounded 
calm.  "  Ida  has  just  arrived.  She  expected  to 
find  Olive  "  - 

"  And  so  did  Max,  no  doubt,"  interrupted  the 
young  widow,  her  glowing  eyes  regarding  the  new- 
comer. "  Mr.  Van  Kirk  is  not  usually  so  devoted 
to  New  York  in  July." 

The  speaker's  nostrils  dilated  with  growing  feel- 
ing, though  she  still  smiled. 

"Your  manner  could  be  improved  upon,  Ida," 
remarked  Max  dryly.  "Really  you  are  stagey, 
you  know.  If  you  have  any  message  for  Olive 


872  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

I  can  take  it  to  her.  I  expect  to  see  her  to- 
night." 

"  And  you  dare  to  tell  me  this,"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Fuller,  fury  breaking  through  her  trained  compos- 
ure.  Her  companions  stared  at  her  in  amazement. 

"  Are  you  out  of  your  mind,  Ida  ?  "  said  Van 
Kirk. 

"  No.  In  it,  as  you  will  see,"  she  answered 
threateningly.  "  In  the  winter  you  asked  me  to 
marry  you." 

She  paused  and  the  man  bowed  his  head  slightly, 
regarding  her,  the  droop  at  the  corners  of  his  eyes 
giving  their  coldness  a  haughty  emphasis. 

"A  short  time  ago  you  wrote  me  a  letter  in 
which  you  offered  me  my  freedom.  Do  you  think 
I  did  not  see  through  that  ?  " 

He  made  no  reply,  nor  altered  his  position. 

"  What  had  you  been  doing  meanwhile  ?  Who 
had  been  your  companions  ?  Your  letters  never 
mentioned  any  social  life  beyond  that  which  you 
enjoyed  in  this  house.  Then  you  all  left  town  to- 
gether for  West  Point.  There  is  always  a  woman 
at  the  bottom  of  such  an  affair  as  this.  What 
woman  could  have  affected  you  but  Olive  Carlyle  ? 
She  has  done  it.  She  is  in  love  with  you,  and 
she  has  stolen  you  from  me.  She  is  a  thief.  I 
will"  — 

"  Ida  Fuller ! "  Max  took  a  step  forward  and 
grasped  her  wrist  as  he  uttered  the  exclamation, 
and  a  vein  stood  out  in  his  forehead. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  with  a  taunting  smile,  looking 


MRS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION.  373 

up  at  him  undauntedly.  "  What  are  you  going 
to  do  about  it  ?  " 

"  I  can't  do  anything,"  he  answered,  low  and 
fiercely,  throwing  her  hand  from  him,  "  except  re- 
mind you  that  you  are  degrading  yourself.  Miss 
Carlyle  is  not  in  this  house,  thank  heaven,  and  now 
come  away  with  me." 

"  Ida !  "  Mrs.  Carlyle  was  pale  and  more  shaken 
than  she  had  been  for  many  years  ;  but  her  voice 
was  no  higher-pitched  nor  more  hurried  than 
usual.  "  It  is  a  sin  you  commit  in  accusing  a 
young  girl  so  coarsely  of  such  a  thing  to  her  mo- 
ther and  the  man  you  meant  to  marry." 

"  Deny  it  if  you  can !  "  Mrs.  Fuller,  beside 
herself  with  jealous  wrath,  her  eyes  flashing  and 
her  lips  twitching,  gestured  commandingly. 

"  Do  you  think  I  will  defend  my  daughter  to 
you?  "  Mrs.  Carlyle's  quiet  voice  was  thrilling. 
"  No.  I  am  now  going  to  leave  the  house,  and  I 
shall  not  come  back  until  you  are  through  here. 
I  think  you  will  suffer  some  time  in  recalling  this 
interview.  When  that  day  conies  I  hope  this  great 
insult  may  serve  a  use  in  softening  your  heart." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  walked  from  the  room,  not  looking 
even  at  Max,  who,  still  unconsciously  frowning, 
stood,  unable  to  utter  a  word  to  detain  her. 

"  I  suppose  we  may  as  well  have  this  out  here," 
he  said  at  last,  "  since  this  gross  intrusion  has 
taken  place." 

Ida  looked  him  up  and  down.  His  hands  were 
crossed  behind  him,  his  feet  planted  apart  in  an 


374  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

easy  posture,  and  the  expression  of  his  face  hail 
changed  to  one  of  cold  endurance.  She  could  not 
help  reading  contempt  in  those  eyes  which  hud 
once  regarded  her  so  ardently.  lie  was  splendidly 
handsome,  and  his  beauty  appealed  to  her  the 
more  that  it  was  drifting  beyond  her  grasp.  She 
felt  a  sharp  pang  of  loss. 

"  You  could  have  made  a  quarrel  with  me  in 
some  easier  way,  a  more  creditable  way,  than  this," 
he  added  quietly. 

"  I  had  no  desire  to  quarrel  with  you,"  she  re- 
turned, panting,  "  but  I  was  carried  away  when  I 
saw  you  come  in  here.  It  maddened  me,  I  tell 
you.  If  what  I  charged  upon  Olive  Carlyle  is  not 
true,  why  did  you  write  me  that  letter  ?  " 

The  vein  stood  out  once  more  in  Van  Kirk's 
forehead.  "  I  will  talk  with  you,  provided  you  do 
not  mention  Miss  Carlyle  again  ;  otherwise  not. 
Do  you  agree  ?  " 

Mrs.  Fuller  ground  her  small  teeth  together, 
but  after  an  instant  she  made  a  haughty  gesture  of 
acquiescence. 

Her  companion  waited  a  little ;  then  proceeded 
with  impassive  coldness.  "  It  was  about  a  year 
ago  now  that  you  began  playing  fast  and  loose 
with  me.  In  the  winter  I  asked  you  to  marry  me. 
I  thought  —  but  never  mind  what  I  thought.  To- 
day we  deal  with  facts.  Shortly  after  I  gained 
your  consent,  I  discovered  that  I  had  done  so  under 
false  pretenses.  I  was  a  good  deal  upset  by  it,  but 
I  waited.  You  waited  too,  because  you  thought 


MBS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION.  375 

me  sufficiently  enslaved  to  comply  with  your  de- 
mand and  accept  another's  charity." 

Ida  took  a  step  forward.  "  I  waited  because  I 
loved  you,  Max,"  she  exclaimed  with  a  passionate 
gesture.  Her  cheeks  were  glowing,  her  eyes 
misty,  her  breast  rising  and  falling  with  her  uu- 
governed  breathing. 

He  stopped  and  looked  at  her  with  surprise  and 
a  shade  of  curiosity  ;  then  she  winced  and  started 
back  as  though  she  had  been  stung,  for  he  laughed, 
—  laughed  with  apparently  real  and  spontaneous 
amusement. 

She  covered  her  burning  face  with  her  hands. 

"  As  I  was  saying,"  he  continued,  in  the  same 
cool  tone  as  though  there  had  been  no  interruption, 
"  we  both  waited,  but  the  situation  was  unpleasant 
for  us  both.  I  had,  rather  slowly,  I  admit,  arrived 
at  an  understanding  of  your  state  of  mind.  It 
seemed  unprofitable  to  continue  the  —  arrange- 
ment, and  so  you  have,  briefly  stated,  the  reason 
why  I  wrote  you  that  letter." 

Mrs.  Fuller  dropped  her  hands  and  regarded 
him. 

"  Offering  me  my  freedom,  but  really  hoping 
for  your  own !  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  returned  Max,  in  a  matter-of-fact 
tone,  at  striking  variance  with  her  intensity.  He 
was  so  deeply,  concentratedly  angry  that  he  was 
unscrupulous. 

"  Ah,"  she  breathed,  shrinking,  but  in  a  moment 
she  drew  herself  up.  "  Supposing  I  will  not  free 
you?  "  she  said  hardily. 


376  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  Then,  I  should  regret  the  necessity,  of  course, 
but  I  should  be  obliged  to  free  myself." 

"  And  you  call  yourself  a  man  of  honor,"  she 
answered,  with  slow,  incisive  scorn. 

"You  have  canceled  all  my  obligations  to-day. 
I  supposed  I  asked  a  lady  to  marry  me.  Do  you 
think  I  should  be  expected  to  sit  every  day  at  ta- 
ble opposite  a  person  whose  true  level  is  the  Bow- 
ery?" 

The  woman  confronting  him  bit  her  lip  till  the 
blood  tinged  it.  "  Maxwell  Van  Kirk,  I  hate 
you,"  she  said,  low  and  furiously. 

"  I  have  n't  a  doubt  of  it,"  he  returned,  balan- 
cing forward  and  back  in  his  easy  attitude.  "  I 
imagine  your  gifts  fit  you  to  be  a  very  good  hater. 
Now,  may  I  understand  that  hating  me  —  which 
would  surely  seem  reason  enough  —  you  refuse  to_ 
marry  me  ?  " 

Mrs.  Fuller  was  very  white  now,  even  to  her 
thin  lips. 

"  You  are  a  —  wicked  —  cruel  —  wretch,"  she 
said  deliberately. 

Van  Kirk  smiled  slightly.  "  And  as  such  I  am 
jilted,  did  I  hear  you  say  ?  " 

Mrs.  Fuller  crossed  to  the  door,  and  then  turned 
and  regarded  him  again.  "  I  know  you,  Max 
Van  Kirk,"  she  declared,  "  and  the  last  few  min- 
utes have  made  me  absolutely  certain  that  the 
conclusion  I  at  first  jumped  at  was  a  correct  one. 
Nothing  else  could  explain  your  treatment  of  me." 

"  Pray  don't  go  without  attending  to  that  little 


MRS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION,  377 

form  we  mentioned,"  said  Van  Kirk  coolly.  "  Jilt 
me,  if  you  will  be  so  good.  It  will  only  detain 
you  a  second.  Just  now  it  would  gratify  you 
perhaps  to  force  me  into  the  alternative,  but  take 
my  word  for  it,  you  will  be  glad  before  the  year  is 
out  if  you  adopt  my  suggestion." 

Mrs.  Fuller's  hand  clutched  the  door-handle. 
She  hesitated  and  changed  color.  "  You  are  free," 
she  said  at  last,  without  looking  at  him ;  then 
without  another  word  left  the  room  and  the 
house. 

Alone,  Van  Kirk  adopted  that  masculine  resort, 
pacing  the  floor.  His  mind  was  so  active  that  for 
him  time  ceased  to  be.  He  could  not  have  told 
whether  minutes  or  hours  passed  before  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle's  quiet  footfall  pressed  the  threshold  of  the 
wide  door  leading  in  from  the  back  parlor,  where 
all  winter  hung  the  faded  curtain. 

"  Is  it  you,  still,  Max  ?  "  she  asked,  surprised. 
"  I  thought  one  of  my  lodgers  must  have  returned 
early." 

He  started  at  her  entrance.  "Yes,  Cousin 
Mary,  it  is  I ;  and  my  apology  for  waiting  is  that 
I  knew  if  I  went  away  I  should  never  gather  cour- 
age to  come  back  here  and  confront  you  ;  and  yet 
—  yet  —  what  is  there  for  me  to  say  ?  " 

"  If  you  are  suffering  because  of  Ida's  words," 
said  Mrs.  Carlyle  calmly,  "you  ought  to  have 
known  that  I  would  not  hold  you  responsible  for 
those." 

The  tall  man,  drinking  in  he.r  every  word  with 


378  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

breathless  eagerness,  took  her  hard-working  hand 
in  his  now  and  kissed  it  gratefully. 

"It  will  always  be  one  of  the  sorrows  of  my 
life,"  he  said,  "  that  I  am  responsible,  though  in- 
nocent." 

"  The  best  way  for  us  to  do  now,"  she  returned, 
"  is  to  stop  right  here  and  never  refer  to  this  again. 
If  we  do  not  watch  and  think  of  our  wounds  they 
will  heal  the  quicker." 

"  You  are  right,  but  I  want  to  talk  to  you  a  little, 
Cousin  Mary.  I  must.  Do  be  lenient  to  me." 

Mrs.  Carlyle  looked  into  the  excited  face  and 
wondered  what  was  coming.  Her  wound  was  one 
that  hurt  her  sorely.  She  would  have  preferred 
that  this  young  man  should  leave  her  to  seek  peace 
and  pursue  it ;  but  his  good  genius  led  him  to 
add  :  "  I  need  you." 

No  one  ever  spoke  those  words  to  Mrs.  Carlyle 
in  vain. 

"  Come,'.'  she  said,  rt  sit  down." 

They  seated  themselves  side  by  side  on  the  old 
sofa,  whose  springs  were  in  a  state  of  collapse. 

"  I  have  drawn  my  first  unhampered  breath  for 
six  mouths  in  this  room  this  afternoon,"  began  Van 
Kirk. 

"  Well  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Carlyle,  because  he  paused. 

"  I  am  free.  So  is  my  cousin.  We  both  made 
a  mistake,  and  may  both  be  thankful  that  we  re- 
pented in  time." 

"  You  may  indeed." 

"  Now  Cousin  Mary,  I  am  going  to  shock  you, 
perhaps.  I  love  your  daughter." 


MBS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION.  379 

"  You  do  shock  me.  Are  you  laboring  under  a 
quixotic  notion  that  you  owe  some  reparation  to 
Olive  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Carlyle  as  coldly  as  quietly. 

The  young  man  smiled  a  little  as  he  met  the 
eyes  behind  the  spectacles.  "  You  can  say  a  se- 
vere thing  once  in  a  while,  Cousin  Mary." 

"  You  deserve  it,  I  fear,  Max.  You  seem  to 
think  love  between  a  man  and  a  woman  is  a  light 
thing." 

"  No,  I  do  not  think  so.  I  cannot  resent  any- 
thing you  may  find  in  your  mind  to  think  or  to 
say  of  me,  for  I  have  run  the  whole  gamut  of  self- 
disgust.  If  ever  a  man  dragged  out  existence  in 
the  valley  of  humiliation,  I  have  of  late.  I  would  n't 
live  over  the  last  six  months  for  any  prize  that 
could  be  offered  me  —  except  one." 

He  paused  and  looked  at  Mrs.  Carlyle.  It  was 
hard  to  tell  just  what  her  eyes  said  behind  the 
glasses,  and  her  lips  did  not  speak. 

"  Have  you  any  more  severe  words  for  me  ?  " 
he  asked  after  a  minute. 

"  I  have  no  wish  to  criticise  you,  Max,  and  still 
less  right.  If  you  made  a  mistake  and  have  ex- 
piated it,  I  hope  you  have  learned  wisdom  ;  but  it 
does  not  sound  like  it  for  you  so  soon  to  be  talking 
about  another  fancy.  It  is  not  a  compliment  to 
—  to  any  woman." 

"  Now,  Cousin  Mary,"  —  he  put  his  hand  on 
hers  beseechingly,  —  "  you  will  paralyze  me,  if  you 
talk  like  that.  Talk  about  its  being  soon !  Why,  I 
have  learned  that  months  can  be  years.  I  am  all 


380  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

topsy-turvy  in  my  mind  and  can't  express  anything 
as  I  should,  but  I  know  I  mean  well.  Can't  you 
help  me  out  a  little?  I  have  grown  up  with  tho 
notion  that  you  were  rather  fond  of  me.  Are  you, 
—  say?" 

He  looked  at  her  with  such  amusingly  lover-like 
earnestness  and  gave  her  hand  so  strong  a  pres- 
sure that  she  smiled  in  spite  of  herself. 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  am  rather  fond  of  you,  Max," 
she  answered.  "  If  you  were  in  any  trouble,  I  am 
sure  I  would  stand  by  you  if  I  could." 

"  If  I  were  in  any  trouble  !  Well,  that  is  pretty 
good." 

"  I  thought  you  told  me  you  were  out  of  your 
difficulty." 

"  But  into  the  fire,"  he  returned  quickly.  "  I 
am  in  perfect  misery  this  minute,  because  I  must 
ask  you  a  question  which  I  am  afraid  to  hear  you 
answer ;  but  it  might  as  well  come  sooner  as  later. 
Does  Olive  care  for  anybody  ?  " 

The  light  struck  the  glass  in  Mrs.  Carlyle's 
spectacles  in  the  most  baffling  manner,  and  she 
was  silent. 

"  For  pity's  sake,  don't  say  I  have  no  right  to 
ask,"  he  went  on,  with  still  greater  uneasiness.  "  I 
know  she  is  very  much  with  that  young  Spencer, 
He  looks  like  a  confoundedly  fine  fellow,  and  they 
say  he  is  one.  Are  you  on  his  side  ?  Does  she  care 
for  him  ?  " 

"  You  're  hurting  my  hand,  Max,"  came  Mrs. 
Carlyle's  cool  tones.  He  withdrew  his  hand 


MRS.  FULLEWS  ACCUSATION.  381 

quickly,  but  gazed  anxiously  into  those  maddening 
spectacles.  "  I  do  not  think  she  cares  for  Mr. 
Spencer,"  she  added. 

"  Nor  anybody  ?  "  —  joyously. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  did  not  answer  at  once. 

"  If  there  is  anybody  in  my  way,"  he  said  seri- 
ously, desperately,  "  the  kindest  thing  you  can  do 
will  be  to  tell  me." 

"  There  is  nobody  that  I  know  of." 

Van  Kirk  started  up  and  walked  down  the 
room,  and  returning,  seated  himself  again  by  Mrs. 
Carlyle. 

"Long  back  in  the  winter  —  how  very  long  it 
seems,"  he  began,  "  I  used  to  come  in  here  and 
spend  an  evening,  and  be  dull  and  gloomy,  a  selfish 
bore  and  a  nuisance.  I  've  seen  it  plainly  enough 
since.  Olive  would  sing  and  talk  and  drive  away 
my  blues  for  the  time  being,  and  I  was  grateful  in 
a  way,  but  I  did  not  appreciate  her.  I  was  too 
preoccupied  with  a  nagging  wretchedness  which 
never  wholly  left  me.  Seeing  her  in  the  new  set- 
ting and  environment  this  summer,  I  have  waked 
up  little  by  little  to  a  suspicion  of  the  facts,  but 
not  until  to-day  did  the  whole  blazing  truth  burst 
upon  me.  Whether  for  good  or  ill,  Ida  Fuller's 
accusation  wrought  that.  Forgive  me  for  refer- 
ring to  it  this  once.  It  was  sacrilege,  profanation, 
all  that  is  false,  yet  it  showed  me  the  truth.  Ex- 
cited as  I  am,  doubtful  as  I  am,  I  yet  feel  com- 
paratively at  rest.  I  know  what  I  want.  I  know 
what  utter  satisfaction  would  mean.  From  being 


382  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

afloat  and  buffeted  by  winds  and  waves,  I  am  fixed 
and  steady  at  last,  — yes,"  for  Mrs.  Curlyle's  sud- 
den smile  might  mean  anything,  —  "  even  if  I  do 
not  win  her,  for  I  shall  have  loved  and  lost  the 
one  perfect  woman,  and  I  shall  maintain  my  self- 
respect  and  have  done  with  sentiment  for  the  rest 
of  my  life." 

"  You  are  very  much  in  earnest,"  said  Mrs.  Car- 
lyle,  her  voice  sounding  quiet  after  this  impetuous 
outburst. 

"And  have  I  your  permission,  your  good 
wishes  ?  " 

"  You  seem  to  have  taken  those  for  granted." 

Van  Kirk  bit  his  lip.  "  I  love  her,"  he  said 
fervently.  "  Forgive  me  if,  in  the  reaction  this 
day  has  brought,  I  forget  discretion." 

"  I  wish  I  knew  what  love  means  to  you,  Max." 

"  I  will  show  you  in  all  my  life  to  come.  Ac- 
tions speak  louder  than  words." 

"  Olive  is  not  a  perfect  woman,  by  any  means," 
said  Mrs.  Carlyle.  "  She  is  the  greatest  treasure 
earth  holds  for  me,  and  the  fact  that  I  have  lis- 
tened to  you  shows  my  regard  for  you  ;  but  when 
people  think  of  marriage  it  should  not  be  with  the 
idea  of  wedding  and  enjoying  the  society  of  a 
faultless  being.  There  are  n't  any  such." 

"  I  am  going  right  up  there,"  said  Max,  rising 
again. 

"To  West  Point?" 

"  Yes.     Any  message  ?  " 

"  Wait,  let  me  think."     Mrs.  Carlyle's  exterior 


MBS.  FULLER'S  ACCUSATION.  383 

was  far  calmer  than  her  niiiicl.  "  It  seems  to  me 
you  had  better  sleep  a  night  in  New  York  before 
you  go  to  Olive." 

"  Oh,  I  shall  not  attack  her  as  I  have  you.  I 
am  not  utterly  imbecile,"  said  Max,  smiling  con- 
fidently. "  Of  course  I  know  she  has  never  thought 
of  me  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  brotherly 
friend." 

"  I  imagine  that  she  knows  you  were  engaged.'' 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  " 

Mrs.  Carlyle  looked  at  him  steadily.  "  Did  n't 
you  tell  her  something  of  the  kind  the  last  even- 
ing you  spent  there,  —  during  the  concert,  you 
know  ?  " 

"  No."  Max  shook  his  head  and  looked  thought- 
fully into  space.  There  was  very  little  pleasant  to 
remember  in  that  evening.  He  could  hear  Olive's 
laughter  yet.  "  Why  —  why  —  I  do  remember 
now  that  I  said  something  which  might  have 
misled  her.  It  was  just  after  I  had  written  the 
letter  to  Mrs.  Fuller  of  which  she  spoke  to-day. 
Perhaps  she  did  misunderstand  that.  Well,  at 
any  rate,  I  know  she  is  so  far  off  the  truth  that 
I  shall  have  to  begin  at  the  very  beginning  and 
lead  up  to  it  gently."  He  smiled  radiantly  down 
at  his  companion.  "  I  am  willing  to  begin  at  the 
beginning,"  he  added. 

"  Willing  to  labor  seven  years  ?  " 

Van  Kirk  gave  his  head  a  quick  shake.  "  Seven 
years  would  be  pretty  steep,"  he  answered. 

Mrs.  Carlyle  rose.     "  Well,  I  should  like  to  go 


884  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

with  you  this  afternoon,  but  my  plans  are  n't  made 
for  it,  and  it  will  not  be  best.  Write  to  me,  Max. 
It  seems  strange  to  have  a  secret  with  you  from 
Olive,  but  since  you  have  opened  your  heart  to 
me,  let  me  travel  the  path  with  you.  Write  me 
how  you  progress,  will  you  ?  "  The  speaker  meant 
at  the  very  first  warning  to  fly  in  body  to  the 
spot  where  her  heart  would  be  until  Olive  came 
home. 

"  Of  course  I  will,  Cousin  Mary."  He  took 
her  hand.  "  Although  I  have  taken  your  consent 
by  storm,  or  for  granted,  or  whatever  way  it  ap- 
pears to  you,  I  appreciate  it  none  the  less,  and 
whether  I  win  Olive  or  not,  I  will  be  a  son  to  you 
henceforward,  if  you  will  let  me.  Count  on  me 
for  anything  in  my  power  to  do  to  serve  you.  You 
have  earned  my  everlasting  gratitude." 

Then  Mrs.  Carlyle  did  something  which  aston- 
ished her  would-be  son  exceedingly.  She  lifted 
one  hand  to  his  broad  shoulder,  drew  him  down 
toward  her,  and  kissed  him. 

He  flushed  red  with  pleasure. 

"  It  is  an  omen/'  he  said. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

KOSCIUSKO'S   GARDEN. 

VAN  KIRK  had  been  told  at  his  office  in  the  city 
that  his  mother  had  called  there  to  find  him,  and 
that  West  Point  had  been  given  her  as  his  where- 
abouts. Therefore  before  he  took  the  train  for  the 
post  he  sent  her  a  telegram. 

This  was  on  a  Saturday.  Inspection  had  taken 
the  place  of  dress  parade  in  camp,  and  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk  with  the  others  had  been  watching  the  pro- 
cession, formed  by  the  commandant  and  his  staff, 
ending  with  the  cadet  adjutant  and  quartermaster, 
trail  its  dignified  length  in,  out,  and  around  the 
short  rows  of  much-braced,  pigeon-breasted  cadets, 
giving  the  young  men,  their  uniforms  and  arms,  a 
microscopic  examination  sufficiently  thorough  to 
cause  apprehensive  chills  to  course  down  the  rigid 
spines  in  spite  of  the  July  atmosphere. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  and  Miss  Bagg  had  been  invited 
to  dine  at  the  house  of  the  superintendent  that 
evening,  but  when  the  former  found  the  telegram 
awaiting  her  at  the  hotel,  she  sent  a  profuse  apol- 
ogy and  remained  at  home. 

"  I  really  could  n't  go,"  she  said  to  Lydia. 
"  The  very  thought  that  that  poor,  dear,  deceived, 


386  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

unhappy  child  is  on  his  way  here  to  learn  the  truth 
completely  unnerves  me." 

Miss  Bagg  assented  without  any  parley.  She 
had  seen  enough  of  Maxwell's  mother  now  to  com- 
prehend that  she  was  one  of  those  persons  who 
really  do  "  enjoy  poor  health,"  who  feel  that  they 
pay  a  delicate  compliment  when  they  assure  a 
friend  that  he  looks  very  ill,  and  take  a  mys- 
terious satisfaction  in  adverse  circumstances  of  all 
kinds. 

So  Lydia  left  her  now,  fairly  reveling  in  woe, 
and  in  the  parlor  of  the  hotel  her  son  found  her 
alone. 

"  Oh,  my  poor,  unconscious  child,"  she  thought, 
as  she  caught  her  first  glimpse  of  his  strong,  bright 
face,  and  advanced  with  the  tread  of  a  tragedy 
queen  to  embrace  him. 

*'  At  last,  mother,"  he  said  heartily,  kissing 
her.  "  How  have  the  months  treated  you  ?  "  He 
stood  a  minute  with  his  hands  on  her  shoulders, 
and  looked  into  her  eyes  with  affectionate  in- 
terest. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  late  sense  of  swelling  satisfac- 
tion in  the  disillusion  she  had  in  store  for  him  sud- 
denly diminished,  and  she  felt  a  pang  of  genuine 
regret.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  task  for  a  mother 
to  cloud  the  face  that  now  regarded  her. 

"  They  have  treated  you  well,"  she  returned. 
"  I  never  saw  you  looking  so  well." 

He  laughed.  "  You  never  saw  me  looking  any 
other  way,  I  am  glad  to  say ;  and  if  appearances 


EOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  387 

are  not  deceitful,  you  are  in  fine  condition,  too. 
Just  my  handsome  dear  mother  again." 

"  I  am  pretty  well,"  she  admitted.  It  was  some- 
thing to  hear  Max  call  her  handsome,  almost  as 
satisfactory  as  though  he  had  declared  a  fear  that 
she  was  going  into  a  decline. 

"  Corne,  let  us  sit  down,"  he  continued,  leading 
her  to  a  seat  and  drawing  one  forward  for  himself. 
"  Where  are  the  rest  of  the  people  ?  " 

"  Many  are  at  the  concert.  There  is  almost  no 
one  about  the  house.  We  can  talk  undisturbed, 
I  am  sure." 

"  Would  you  like  to  go  over  into  camp  ?  "  asked 
Van  Kirk  brightly.  It  would  be  some  satisfac- 
tion to  see  the  flutter  of  Olive's  dress,  even  though 
it  was  in  close  proximity  to  the  bars  and  curves  of 
the  adjutant's  chevrons. 

"  No,  my  son.  The  music  would  disturb  us. 
What  I  have  to  say  has  no  fitting  accompaniment 
in  music." 

From  her  tone  surely  nothing  more  lively  than 
the  "  Dead  March  in  Saul "  would  be  admissible,  and 
Max  looked  at  her  with  vague  apprehensiveness. 

"  Has  anything  happened  to  Olive  ?  "  he  asked. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  stared  at  this  irrelevance. 

"  No.  Olive  and  Miss  Spencer  have  gone  to  a 
tea  and.  Miss  Bagg  is  at  Colonel  Wheeler's.  AH 
are  well,"  added  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  sepulchrally ;  "  but, 
my  poor  boy,  all  is  not  well  with  you  nor  with  me. 
It  is  an  awful  thing  which  I  am  obliged  to  break 
to  you.  You  have  given  your  love  unworthily. 


388  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

My  heart  " — the  speaker  spread  her  hand  over  the 
left  side  of  her  black-lace  bodice  —  "  aches.  Yet 
it  is  not  too  late  to  save  you." 

"  You  mean  Ida  ?  " 

"  My  child,  you  have  enough  to  bear  without 
my  reproaches,  and  yet  you  can  understand  that  it 
wounded  my  mother-heart  when  Ida  Fuller  came 
in  to  me  one  day,  excited,  flushed,  a  letter,  your 
handwriting,  in  her  hand,  and  said  bluntly :  '  Aunt 
Elinor,  I  think  it  is  time  you  should  know  that  I 
am  engaged  to  Max.'  You  might  have  confided  in 
me,  I  think." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  wafted  rose  essence  before  her 
son's  face  as  she  lifted  her  handkerchief  to  her 
eyes.  Poor  Max !  He  had  connected  that  odor 
all  his  life  with  woe  and  rumors  of  woe. 

"  It  was  n't  right,  mother.  The  whole  thing 
was  a  failure  from  beginning  to  end.  I  have  n't 
seemed  to  hit  anything  just  right  yet ;  but  the 
lane  has  seemed  a  pretty  long  one,  and  perhaps  it 
is  going  to  turn.  At  least,  I  take  it  as  a  hopeful 
sign  that  Ida  has  thrown  me  over." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  handkerchief  dropped  as  she 
seized  her  son's  arm.  "  What  did  you  say  ?  Ida 
Fuller  has  thrown  you  over?" 

"Yes." 

"  But  you  look  so  bright,  my  child."  Mrs.  Van 
Kirk  mentioned  this  fact  as  though  it  were  the 
last  straw  laid  upon  her  powers  of  endurance. 

"  Oh,  I  am  bound  to  bear  up  like  a  man,  you 
know,"  he  answered. 


KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  389 

•k  When  have  you  seen  her  ?  I  left  her  at  Old 
Point." 

"  I  saw  her  to-day  in  New  York." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  stared  thoughtfully.  "  Then  it 
is  the  porpoise,"  she  said  solemnly  and  enigmati- 
cally. 

"  Perhaps  it  is,"  returned  Max  cheerfully.  "  Has 
Ida  been  playing  mermaid  ?  " 

"  She  is  going  to  marry  another  man  ;  a  richer 
man,"  announced  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  in  awful  tones. 
Had  her  dearest  hopes  been  dashed  in  this  loss  of 
her  niece  for  her  son,  she  could  not  have  spoken 
more  tragically.  "  Oh,  my  poor,  poor  boy."  More 
rose  and  more  handkerchief  were  brought  into 
requisition. 

"  I  'm  all  right,  mother.  '  Don't  you  cry  for 
me,'  as  the  old  song  hath  it.  I  am  pleased  to  hear 
of  Ida's  prospects." 

"  That  is  because  you  don't  know  how  little  hair 
he  has.  He  is  bald-headed." 

"  All  the  better.  There  will  probably  be  mo- 
ments in  his  career  when  that  fact  will  be  greatly 
to  his  advantage." 

"  He  is  the  fattest  thing  you  ever  saw,"  pursued 
Mrs.  Van  Kirk  inconsolably. 

"  No  matter,  so  long  as  his  pocket-book  follows 
his  example.  Now  we  have  turned  a  new  leaf 
and  begin  again.  I  am  going  to  have  a  few  days 
up  here  with  you  undisturbed.  I  have  told  them 
at  the  office  that  the  first  man  who  sends  for 
me  is  discharged.  Tell  me  how  you  like  Miss 
Bagg." 


390  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  I  will  never,  never  let  that  old  man  call  me 
'  aunt,'  you  may  rest  assured  of  that.  He  is  some- 
thing in  oil.  Think  of  it !  " 

"  Sounds  more  like  a  sardine  than  a  porpoise. 
Come,  let  us  wish  the  sardine  well  and  leave  him. 
Plow  does  Miss  Bagg  strike  you  ?  " 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  gave  a  parting  shudder  and 
replied :  — 

"  She  is  a  very  nice  sort  of  person.  Quite  un- 
assuming. I  like  her  very  well.  We  have  had  a 
little  ripple  of  excitement  here  in  Miss  Spencer's 
engagement." 

"Indeed!     To  whom?" 

"  One  of  the  cadets.  His  name  is  Hemenway. 
I  am  sure  I  hope  his  people  or  hers  have  some- 
thing." 

"  I  trust  Olive  has  not  succumbed." 

"  Oh,  no.  Have  you  seen  that  child  lately  ? 
She  is  simply  beautiful.  The  last  year  has  made 
a  great  difference  in  her  looks." 

"  I  suppose  so.  I  felt  that  I  was  meeting  a  new 
person  when  we  met  the  night  before  Uncle  Jotham 
died." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  shook  her  head.  "  What  a  con- 
fusion of  ideas  the  thought  of  that  evening  brings 
up  to  me  !  Max,  on  that  awful  day  when  Ida 
came  to  me  with  your  letter  in  her  hand,  she  told 
me  that  Miss  Bagg  wanted  you  to  have  the  money 
after  all." 

"  Humph !  Did  she  tell  you  that  ?  Well,  per- 
haps  it  is  as  well.  You  see  now  just  what  an  un« 
calculating  person  Miss  Bagg  is." 


KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  391 

"  But  she  told  me  that  you  utterly  and  decidedly 
refused  it." 

"  I  hope  it  was  n't  necessary  to  assure  you  of 
that.  No  ;  my  mother  would  see  that  idea  as  it 
looks  to  me,  or  she  would  n't  be  the  woman  I  have 
always  believed  her." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  colored  and  was  silent. 

"  It  is  very  nice  for  Olive  to  be  adopted  in  this 
way,"  she  said  at  last. 

"  Yes ;  it  gives  her  a  new  experience.  They 
both  enjoy  it." 

"And  it  has  matured  Olive  so  fast.  There  is 
something  new  and  rather  sedate  in  her  manner. 
Perhaps  sedate  is  scarcely  the  word,  but  it  is  very 
good  form,  at  any  rate  ;  Olive  used  to  be  a  trifle 
pert." 

Mother  and  son  were  still  talking  when  Miss 
Carlyle  walked  into  the  room.  She  stepped  back 
involuntarily  at  sight  of  the  pair,  and  then  came 
forward  as  Max -rose. 

"  I  thought  I  should  find  Cousin  Lydia  here," 
she  said,  as  she  shook  hands  with  him.  "  How 
often  we  greet  you,  Max,  either  to  welcome  you  or 
to  bid  you  good-speed." 

Certainly  her  manner  was  very  good  form. 
There  was  not  a  shade  of  the  impulsiveness  which 
had  met  him  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  arrival, 
and  she  was  a  fair  creature  to  look  upon  in  her 
thin  evening  gown. 

Van  Kirk  almost  forgot  himself  as  he  gazed,  but 
the  gentle  withdrawal  of  her  hand  reminded  him. 


392  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  At  the  beginning,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  I 
must  commence  at  the  beginning." 

"  You  will  not  have  the  opportunity  to  bid  me 
good-speed  quite  so  soon  this  time.  I  shall  stay 
awhile,"  he  answered.  "  Come  in  and  wait  for 
Miss  Bagg." 

"  No,  really.  Cousin  Elinor  and  you  have  not 
met  for  so  long.  I  will  not  interrupt  your  tete-a- 
tete." 

"  We  want  to  be  interrupted,  don't  we,  mo- 
ther? "  —  appealing  eagerly  to  Mrs.  Van  Kirk. 

But  Olive  would  not  allow  the  latter  to  answer. 
She  shook  her  head  smilingly.  "  There  is  tattoo. 
Bertha  must  be  about  somewhere.  I  must  go. 
Good-night." 

When  she  had  gone  Max  turned  to  his  mother, 
with  an  unconscious  smile  on  his  face. 

"  I  told  Olive  of  your  engagement,"  she  said,  in 
an  annoyed  tone.  "  If  I  only  had  held  my  peace  she 
need  have  known  nothing  of  the  mortifying  affair." 

"  Those  things  always  get  out  somehow,"  he  re- 
turned cheerfully.  "  Better  put  a  bold  face  upon 
it  and  let  the  truth  be  known." 

In  what  shape  his  mother  told  her  news  he  did 
not  know,  but  he  saw  that  Miss  Bagg  had  heard 
it  when  he  met  her  the  rext  day.  She  pressed  his 
hand  with  extra  cordiality,  pleased  to  her  very 
heart  to  have  "  got  him  back,"  as  she  said  to  her- 
self. She  fancied  it  was  his  old,  confident,  care- 
free face  she  saw  again. 

"  Accept  my  congratulations,"  she  said. 


EOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  393 

He  laughed.  "  Would  n't  condolences  be  more 
in  order?''  he  returned. 

Although  Van  Kirk  intended  to  begin  at  the  be- 
ginning, he  evidently  did  not  intend  to  defer  that 
beginning.  He  made  it  by  going  with  Olive  and 
Miss  Spencer  to  church  the  next  morning. 

'•  With  whom  are  you  going  to  walk  ?  "  he  asked 
Miss  Carlyle  when,  service  over,  they  had  watched 
the  battalion  march  away.  "  Oh,  no,  "  he  added, 
as  Olive  smiled,  "  my  cadet  life  is  not  so  far  be- 
hind me  that  I  forget  its  bright  spots.  Miss 
Spencer's  intentions  I  can  guess  at ;  yours  I  am 
at  sea  about." 

*•  You  are  rather  presuming,"  returned  Olive, 
"but  I  don't  mind  telling  you.  I  am  going  to 
walk  with  Mr.  Bradley." 

Van  Kirk  had  been  dreading  to  hear  the  name 
Spencer,  and  his  relief  was  such  that  his  spirits 
took  a  bound. 

"  Shall  you  be  accessible  this  evening?  " 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so,"  returned  Olive  carelessly. 

"  Then  I  shall  call  upon  you.    Don't  forget  me." 

He  lifted  his  hat  and  left  the  girls. 

"  Well,"  remarked  Miss  Spencer,  "  if  Osborn 
Hemenway  is  going  to  look  as  beaming  as  that 
when  I  throw  him  over,  I  shall  not  do  it.  I  '11 
marry  him  sooner  than  give  him  any  such  satisfac- 
tion." 

Miss  Bagg  had  confided  to  the  girls  her  joyous 
bit  of  news. 

"Mr.    Van    Kirk's    engagement    has    been    a 


394  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

strange,  secret  one,"  returned  Olive  musingly.  "  It 
is  a  pity  his  mother  has  allowed  herself  to  talk 
of  it  to  us.  We  need  have  known  nothing  of  this 
outcome  of  it.  The  whole  matter  might  have 
been  kept  perfectly  quiet.  It  would  be  kind  of 
you  not  to  speak  of  the  affair  to  Mr.  Hemenway. 
Let  us  hush  it  right  up." 

There  was  not  a  day,  scarcely  a  waking  hour  in 
a  day,  when  Olive  did  not  recall  the  sentence 
which,  falling  from  Van  Kirk's  lips,  brought  about 
so  complete  a  revulsion  in  her  feelings.  "  I  have 
written  to  this  woman ;  soon  I  shall  know  the 
worst — or  the  best."  She  supposed  then  that 
he  meant  Ida.  Now  his  good  spirits  were  so  un- 
affected and  so  patent,  she  understood  that  he  had 
probably  been  restive  under  his  shackles,  and  that 
the  one  good  thing  he  was  referring  to  was  free- 
dom. The  case  might  have  been  the  more  des- 
perate to  him  in  that  he  had  met  and  really  loved 
some  other  woman  whom  he  longed  to  be  at  lib- 
erty to  approach.  No  view  of  the  case  affected 
Olive,  or  made  any  difference  in  her  situation.  A 
man  who  has  a  particle  of  sentiment  for  a  woman 
objects  notoriously  to  the  idea  that  she  should  be  a 
sister  to  him. 

No,  Olive  had  fought  her  fight,  and,  being  a  girl 
of  good  fibre  mentally  and  bodily,  she  did  not  in- 
tend to  be  thrown  off  her  balance  because  ]M:i.x. 
had  made  the  disconcerting  statement  that  he  had 
come  to  stay,  and  because  he  openly  declared  a 
wish  to  enjoy  her  society. 


KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  395 

She  could  not  go  on  all  her  life  avoiding  him. 
They  were  connected  by  the  acquaintance  of  a  life- 
time as  well  as  family  ties.  She  must  accustom 
herself  to  him ;  so  the  sooner  the  better. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Van  Kirk,  wandering  along  the 
walk,  had  encountered  his  friend  Gary  near  the 
corner  of  the  Academic  Building. 

"  Well,"  said  the  lieutenant,  with  a  curious  stare. 

"  Back  again,  you  see,  Gary." 

They  shook  hands. 

"  Air  enough  for  you  up  here  ?  "  inquired  the  offi- 
cer. "  It  seems  to  me  you  look  rather  expansive." 

"  That 's  the  way  I  feel." 

Gary's  curious  gaze  grew  into  an  expression  of 
intense  and  sympathetic  interest.  "  You  have  n't 
got  the  mitten,  have  you  ?  "  he  asked  in  a  stage 
whisper. 

"  You  've  guessed  it  the  first  time." 

The  officer  straightened  up,  smiled,  gave  his 
friend  a  resounding  slap  on  the  shoulder,  and  then 
gripped  him  again  by  the  hand. 

"  Come  down  to  the  mess,"  he  said  senten- 
tiously.  "  This  is  the  day  we  celebrate." 

That  evening  a  full  moon  showered  the  river 
with  silver  and  cast  long  waving  shadows  upon 
the  lawns.  Mr.  Van  Kirk  suggested  to  Olive  that 
perhaps  she  would  as  willingly  receive  him  out-of- 
doors  as  in.  She  assented  readily,  but  mentally 
she  steeled  herself.  Why  should  he  wish  to  see  her 
alone  unless  it  was  to  give  her  some  confidence  ? 

"  What  a  perfect  night,''  she  remarked,  as  they 


396  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

set  forth  from  the  house  aud  took  the  path  which 
leads  past  Trophy  Point. 

"Yes,"  he  answered.  "The  sort  of  night  to 
make  one  forget  all  his  anxieties  and  remember 
nothing  but  the  pleasant  things  of  life." 

"  And  they  are  numerous  up  here." 

"  It  seems  so  to  me  now,  certainly,"  he  replied. 
"  I  have  my  affairs  —  business,  and  all  that  —  in 
such  shape  that  I  can  at  last  try  something  of  a 
dolcefar  niente  existence  with  you  —  all." 

"  Yes,  it  is  very  nice  for  you,"  returned  Olive. 

It  was  a  polite  little  reply,  but  it  was  cooler 
than  the  moonlight.  Its  tone  indicated  to  Max 
that  he  was  indeed  at  the  beginning,  and  theory 
and  practice  were  no  more  unified  in  his  case  than 
in  that  of  most  people.  Olive  was  as  lovely  as 
a  dream  in  the  silvery  radiance  that  bathed  her, 
and  it  was  tantalizing  to  be  linked  to  her  by  the 
hand  upon  his  arm,  and  to  know  that  she  was  near 
to  him  only  in  body. 

"  You  might  be  a  little  more  complimentary,  I 
think,"  he  returned  lightly,  and  yet  with  an  un- 
mistakable tinge  of  earnestness,  "  simply  out  of 
deference  to  the  situation,  if  nothing  more.  This 
is  so  beautiful  a  night,  and  it  is  so  valuable  a 
thing  to  me  to  be  strolling  with  you  in  it,  you 
might  stretch  a  point  and  declare  that  you  like 
it,  too." 

A  burned  child  dreads  the  fire.  Especial!}*  did 
Olive  dread  the  hint  of  that  fire  which  glowed  in 
his  tone.  It  had  lured  her  on  to  disaster  before  ; 
now  it  simply  excited  her  caution. 


EOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  397 

"  Of  course  I  am  glad,"  she  said,  with  the  most 
prosaic  candor.  "  It  is  such  a  nice  thing  for  your 
mother,  too." 

They  paused  a  minute  on  Trophy  Point,  but  the 
few  seats  were  full.  They  waited  ami  went  through 
the  motions  of  admiring  the  view,  but  if  ever  a 
fair  vision  was  wasted  on  eyes  that  saw  not,  this 
was  the  occasion. 

"  So  that  is  the  best  you  can  do  for  me,  is  it?" 
he  said,  as  they  went  back  to  the  path  and  contin- 
ued their  stroll. 

"  Why,  what  were  we  talking  about  ? "  asked 
Olive,  her  innocent  tone  being  proof  positive  that 
the  most  honest  woman  will  lapse  when  it  comes 
to  a  self -defensive  situation  of  the  present  sort. 

"  You  were  saying  that  you  thought  it  was  very 
nice  for  my  mother  to  have  me  here,"  returned 
Max  dryly. 

"  And  for  myself,  did  n't  I  say  ?  "  asked  Olive, 
laughing.  "  I  meant  to  make  a  correct  little  sis- 
terly speech.  It  is  the  least  I  can  do  in  return 
for  your  kindness  in  wishing  to  adopt  me." 

"  Who  wishes  to  adopt  you  ?  " 

"  You  said  you  did  the  last  time  you  were  here. 
You  made  some  quite  touching  remark  about 
never  having  had  a  sister  and  liking  me  in  the  ca- 
pacity. Now,  don't  take  it  back,  for  I  dare  say  I 
could  be  educated  into  quite  a  sympathizing  one 
in  time.  The  next  time  you  compliment  me  with 
a  confidence,  I  promise  to  receive  it  with  the  most 
respectful  seriousness." 


398  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  There,  now,  I  have  given  him  an  opening,"  she 
added  mentally.  But  apparently  her  remarks  hud 
more  of  a  repressive  than  an  encouraging  effect. 
He  did  not  speak  for  a  minute. 

All  at  once,  through  some  open  windows  in  the 
barracks,  there  came  floating  across  the  moonlit 
plain  the  measured,  sweetly  solemn  strains  of  a 
familiar  hymn,  sung  by  men's  voices  :  — 

"  Children  of  the  Heavenly  King, 
As  ye  journey,  sweetly  sing  ; 
Sing  your  Saviour's  worthy  praise, 
Glorious  in  his  works  and  ways." 

There  flashed  at  once  from  Olive's  memory  a 
picture  of  the  Sunday  twilight  hour  of  her  child- 
hood, when  in  her  mother's  lap,  her  head  on  her 
mother's  breast,  they  had  always  sung  that  hymn 
together.  What  content,  safe,  happy  days  those 
were,  when  there  was  nothing  to  conceal ;  to  suffer 
meant  to  cry  and  be  soothed  with  a  mother's  lov- 
ing, all-powerful  kisses.  Now  she  had  sailed  out 
of  that  harbor,  and  skill  and  judgment  were  re- 
quired to  steer  her  bark.  Was  life  a  succession 
of  gales  to  be  weathered  ?  The  calm,  silent  night 
seemed  a  reproach  upon  the  tumult  that  arose 
within  her.  The  distant  music,  sweet  enough  on 
the  refulgent  air  to  proceed  from  an  angelic  choir, 
lent  a  new  uplifting  to  the  scene.  All  deception, 
all  mere  conventionality,  suddenly  seemed  pett}*, 
like  unstable  froth  that  foams  and  restlessly 
changes  above  the  steadfast  depths  of  truth. 

Why  could  she  not  say  now:    "Max,  we  are 


KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  399 

both  children  of  that  Heavenly  King,  and  coming 
of  such  a  Father,  we  should  at  least  be  honest.  I 
am  so  unfortunate  as  to  love  you  when  you  do  not 
love  me.  Therefore  I  tell  you,  that  you  may  un- 
derstand why  it  is  hard  for  me  to  be  with  you,  and 
why  I  ask  you  to  make  it  easy  for  me  to  avoid  you 
for  a  time.  Give  me  a  little  space  to  recover  my 
balance  and  educate  my  thought,  so  that  in  the 
future  when  we  meet  it  will  be  disquieting  to 
neither  of  us." 

In  the  high  place  where  for  a  minute  it  seemed 
to  her  they  stood  as  they  paused  to  listen,  this 
seemed  possible.  The  words  fairly  trembled  on 
her  lips. 

Had  she  spoken  them,  we  know  that  joy  would 
have  followed,  but  it  does  happen  sometimes  that 
as  well-meaning  and  good  a  woman  as  Olive  Car- 
lyle  loves  really  in  vain^still  she  is  not  sure  of  it. 
Had  she  the  man's  opportunity  to  woo,  even  in  a 
feminine  way,  perhaps  she  might  win.  Education, 
precedent,  the  consensus  of  public  opinion,  bid  her 
hide  her  affection  at  any  cost  or  risk.  Will  this 
always  be  ?  Is  there  some  underlying  spiritual 
truth  which,  when  the  equality  of  man  and  woman 
is  otherwise  fully  acknowledged,  will  bid  the  march 
of  progress  pause  before  this  supreme  and  holy 
place  in  human  life  with  a  "  thus  far  shalt  thou  go 
and  no  farther  "  ? 

The  counter  force  in  Olive  was  too  strong  for 
the  impulse  which  drove  the  truth  to  her  lips,  but 
her  very  nearness  to  the  venture  shook  her.  Max 


400  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

felt  the  hand  in  his  arm  tremble,  and  he  put  his 
own  hand  over  it.  Instantly  she  withdrew  hei^elf 
from  him.  The  movement  had  in  it  nothing  either 
of  shyness  or  coquetry.  It  was  a  vigorous  protest, 
the  afterglow  of  her  exaltation. 

The  hymn  died  away.  The  two  stood  facing 
each  other  in  the  path. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  that  music,"  said  Olive. 

"  No.  It  glorified  the  night,  and  the  night 
glorified  it,"  returned  Max.  "  The  boys  have  no 
idea  how  effective  they  were.  Shall  we  walk  on  ?  " 
He  offered  his  arm  with  as  formal  an  air  as  though 
they  had  been  in  the  ball-room,  and  his  companion 
accepted  it.  That  prompt,  spontaneous  action  of 
Miss  Carlyle's  had  done  more  to  convince  her 
lover  that  he  had  everything  to  overcome  than  any 
previous  event. 

"  I  don't  understand  that  singing,"  he  continued. 
"  It  sounded  as  though  they  were  having  prayer- 
meeting.  When  I  was  a  cadet  they  used  to  have 
that  on  Wednesday  evenings." 

"  I  did  n't  know  they  ever  had  prayer-meeting," 
replied  Olive. 

"  Oh,  yes,  that  is  one  of  the  regular  institutions. 
There  is  always  a  faitlif ul  handful  from  the  corps 
who  attend.  It  is  rather  interesting  to  know  how 
it  is  kept  up.  During  the  first  months  of  a  man's 
life  as  a  plebe,  when  he  feels  that  he  is  among 
strangers  in  a  strange  land  and  that  every  man's 
hand  is  against  him,  the  prayer-meeting  is  a  sort 
of  sanctuary  ;  the  one  place  where  he  is  sure  of 


KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  401 

eonsideration  and  a  peaceful  interval.  So,  many 
of  them  attend  the  meetings  and  enough  of  the 
number  stand  by  permanently  to  keep  the  institu- 
tion going.  They  may  be  having  some  extra  ses- 
sion to-night." 

"  I  shall  not  forget  that  singing,"  said  Olive 
again. 

Silence  was  unbroken  for  a  little,  then  Van 
Kirk  spoke :  — 

"  Have  you  seen  much  of  Lieutenant  Gary  since 
you  have  been  here  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  usually  have  a  little  talk  with  him  at 
guard  mounting.  He  comes  up  from  inspecting 
the  tents  and  stops  a  few  minutes  on  his  way  to 
breakfast." 

"  Is  it  generally  known  that  he  is  engaged  ?  " 

"  I  have  n't  heard  of  it." 

"He  told  me  to-day  that  Miss  Bruce  said  he 
might  announce  it." 

"  Why,  I  wonder  if  it  is  that  pretty  Miss  Bruce, 
who  was  here  with  her  mother  when  we  first 
came  ?  " 

"  The  very  same.     I  don't  remember  her." 

"  No,  you  had  gone  when  he  was  so  attentive  to 
her  at  the  hotel  that  we  all  remarked  it.  I  sup- 
pose they  were  engaged  then.  How  she  must 
have  disliked  to  go  away  so  soon  !  " 

"  Yes  ;  I  wonder  what  they  would  give  to  be  in 
our  places  now." 

Had  it  not  been  for  that  unlucky  interview  dur- 
ing the  concert  in  camp,  there  is  no  telling  what 


402  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

gentle  answer  Olive  might  have  made  to  this  sug- 
gestion. As  it  was,  her  whole  nature  was  alert 
and  militant. 

"Yes,  poor  things,"  she  answered  carelessly. 
"  I  wish  they  were." 

Van  Kirk,  unconscious  of  his  handicap,  forged 
steadily  ahead.  It  is  a  familiar  trait  in  human 
nature  that  difficulty  of  possession  lends  desirabil- 
ity. He  longed  more  and  more  with  every  minute 
that  passed  to  be  necessary  to  this  cool,  well-poised 
maiden  who  apparently  found  him  so  superfluous. 

"  Gary  is  the  strangest  fellow,"  he  proceeded. 
"  He  has  the  wildest  notions  concerning  the  rela- 
tions between  men  and  women." 

"  That  is  odd.  He  seems  such  a  practical  per- 
sonage." 

"  I  know  he  does.  He  certainly  has  lucid  inter- 
vals, but  if  you  will  believe  me,  he  thinks  if  a 
woman  truly  loves  a  man,  no  matter  how  deeply 
she  conceals  it,  he  will  feel  it  and  be  attracted  to- 
ward her,  —  love  her,  —  tell  her  so  "  — 

Van  Kirk's  breath  here  deserted  him  unexpect- 
edly, and  he  walked  on  in  silence. 

Olive  widened  slightly  the  distance  between 
them.  His  words  hurried  her  heart-beats  so,  she 
feared  he  might  feel  them. 

"That  is  an  odd  theory,"  she  said  shortly, 
obliged  to  say  something  to  fill  the  undesirable 
pause. 

"  Do  you  believe  it  ?  " 

"  Most  certainly  not.'* 


KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN.  403 

"  Nor  I,  either.  It  is  all  very  well  for  Gary  to 
sit  serene  in  his  happiness  and  theorize,  but  I 
know  it  is  a  lie."  Van  Kirk's  low  voice  betrayed 
pain.  "  I  love  a  woman  with  my  whole  heart.  I 
shall  love  her  all  my  life,  and  that  I  believe  will 
last  to  eternity." 

Olive's  brow  contracted  and  her  teeth  caught  her 
lip.  She  knew  that  was  what  she  had  come  out 
here  for,  —  to  listen  once  more  to  Max's  confi- 
dences ;  but  she  was  not  strong  enough  to  bear  to 
hear  him  say  such  words  of  another.  Her  mother's 
calm,  loving  face  rose  before  her.  "  If  it  is  not 
for  you,  not  a  part  of  what  is  yours,"  she  heard 
her  say,  "  you  do  not  really  want  it.  Listen  for  the 
divine  music." 

Ah,  the  magic  music  was  playing  very  softly 
now,  —  was  merely  a  breath,  and  in  a  minor  strain. 
She  was  very,  very  far  away  from  that  which  had 
been  assigned  to  her. 

"  I  am  nothing  to  this  woman,"  continued  Van 
Kirk.  "  She  is  rich  in  other  friends.  If  I  ap- 
pear she  smiles  on  me  kindly ;  if  I  go  she  nods  me 
a  pleasant  farewell.  Tell  me,  —  you  do  not  laugh 
at  me  to-night,  and  you  understand  a  woman's  na- 
ture, —  shall  I  tell  her  of  my  love  and  that  I  hope 
against  hope  to  win  hers,  or  shall  I  strive  for  pa- 
tience, be  content  with  dissatisfaction,  and  live  for 
her  in  silence  ?  " 

Olive  was  still  a  moment,  as  though  for  reflec- 
tion, but  when  she  spoke  her  pleasant  voice  was 
steady :  — 


404  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  If  she  does  not  care  for  you,  Max,  you  will 
gain  nothing  by  speaking,  as  it  looks  to  me.  If  a 
man  to  whom  I  was  indifferent  told  me  he  loved 
me  and  meant  to  make  me  love  him,  I  should  al- 
ways be  on  the  defensive  against  him.  I  should 
pity  him,  perhaps,  but  not  with  the  sort  of  pity 
which  is  akin  to  love." 

They  paced  steadily  on  in  the  moonlight.  Some- 
thing of  the  calmness  of  the  night  seemed  to  enter 
into  Olive.  After  all,  her  secret  was  her  own. 
Max  indeed  respected  her  greatly  to  show  her  his 
heart.  All  her  life  she  had  been  taught  that 
strength  comes  with  right-doing.  She  did  not 
know  whether  what  she  felt  was  despair  or  resigna- 
tion ;  but  it  was  a  passivity  that  was  restful  after 
struggle. 

A  good  and  witty  woman  once  remarked  when 
enmeshed  in  a  labyrinth  of  perplexing  circum- 
stances :  "  I  do  not  see  but  that  this  time  we  are 
reduced  to  trusting  in  Providence." 

Something  like  this,  only  without  the  humorous 
sense,  was  Olive's  state  of  mind  to-night.  She 
could  not  plan  even  for  the  morrow.  She  had  been 
carried  through  one  more  confidential  interview 
with  Max,  and  with  the  days  she  dreaded  stretch- 
ing before  her,  she  felt  neither  desire  nor  ability  to 
prepare  for  them,  but  sank  to  sleep  that  night  too 
exhausted  for  tormenting  thought. 

Unfortunately  for  Van  Kirk,  he  could  not  do 
likewise. 

Long  after  Olive  left  him  he  walked  like  an  un« 


KOSCIUSEO'S  GARDEN.  405 

easy  spirit,  and  his  restlessness  followed  him  to 
bed.  The  consequence  was  that  the  only  sleep 
which  visited  him  came  so  late  that,  when  he  ap- 
peared at  the  breakfast-table  the  following  day, 
none  of  the  rest  of  his  party  were  in  sight.  The 
meal  finished,  he  called  dutifully  for  his  mother. 

"  You  have  not  slept  well,  my  son,"  was  her 
greeting.  "  You  are  pale,"  she  added  with  mourn- 
ful satisfaction. 

"  I  feel  first-rate,"  he  returned  rather  brusquely. 
"  There  were  none  of  you  about ;  I  thought  you 
might  have  deserted  me  and  gone  off  on  some  ex- 
cursion." 

"  No ;  Miss  Spencer  has  gone  to  play  tennis, 
Miss  Bagg  is  writing  a  letter,  and  Olive  has  taken 
a  book  and  gone  out-of-doors  to  read." 

"  Rather  indefinite,"  observed  Max  tentatively. 

"  Well,  I  think  I  heard  her  tell  Miss  Bagg  she 
was  going  to  Kosciusko's.  She  said  there  would 
certainly  be  nobody  there  this  morning." 

"  What  can  I  do  for  your  amusement,  mother  ? 
Would  you  like  to  go  up  the  river  this  afternoon?" 

It  was  not  in  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  code  to  admit 
that  she  would  like  to  do  anything,  so  she  only 
raised  her  eyebrows  musingly  and  said  she  did  n't 
know. 

"Think  it  over  this  morning,"  said  the  young 
man.  "  I  am  going  out  for  a  while.  Perhaps  I 
shall  hunt  up  Gary." 

In  his  inmost  heart  Mr.  Van  Kirk  was  aware 
that  he  should  not  hunt  up  Gary.  He  was  in  no 


406  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

mood  to  listen  to  what  he  termed  the  lieutenant's 
optimistic  fairy  stories.  Beside,  it  was  a  long 
time  since  he  had  seen  Kosciusko's  garden.  Per- 
haps Olive  was  not  there  after  all,  but  he  would 
like  to  see  the  place. 

His  mother  looked  after  him  as  he  walked  down 
the  path  from  the  hotel. 

"  He  is  too  proud  to  own  it,  but  he  cannot  hide 
it  from  his  mother's  eyes,"  she  thought.  "  Ida 
Fuller  has  dealt  him  a  blow." 

Van  Kirk  was  quite  as  low-spirited  as  his  mother 
believed  him  to  be,  but  like  other  moths,  he  pre- 
ferred singeing  his  wings  in  the  candle,  notwith- 
standing the  pain,  to  remaining  in  the  safe  unevent- 
f  ulness  of  the  twilight. 

Have  you  ever  descended  the  long  flight  of  rock 
steps  which  lead  to  the  Polish  exile's  favorite  re- 
sort ?  If  so,  you  probably  rate  his  taste  as  high  as 
his  valor. 

Van  Kirk,  when  he  reached  the  spot,  paused  at 
the  foot  of  the  steps  and  looked  about  him.  A 
fountain  flung  its  spray  high  in  air.  The  lofty, 
jagged  rock  walls  which  shelter  the  nook  glistened 
here  and  there  with  tiny  trickling  streams,  and  held 
full-leafed  trees  and  purple  bell-flowers  in  their 
crevices.  Another  steep,  tree-covered  declivity  de- 
scended to  the  river,  sparkling  beneath  the  lace- 
work  of  foliage.  It  was  familiar,  lovely,  attrac- 
tively qiiiet,  but  —  deserted.  He  walked  forward 
and  stood  by  the  fouutain,  and  then  saw  that  of 
which  his  mind  was  full. 


EOSCIUSEO'S  GARDEN.  407 

A  narrow  walk  skirtiiig  a  ravine  winds  in  a  semi- 
circle at  one  end  of  the  "  garden,"  and  midway  of 
it  there  was  a  seat  in  the  dense  shade.  There  Ol- 
ive was  sitting,  her  head  bent  above  her  book. 
Van  Kirk's  impulse  was  to  rush  to  her,  but,  re- 
minding himself  that  this  was  the  day  of  small 
things,  he  composed  his  countenance  carefully  as 
he  walked  slowly  toward  her.  His  approaching 
footfall  roused  her  from  her  reverie  and  she  lifted 
her  eyes,  startled.  Excursionists  were  frequent 
here,  but  at  this  hour  in  the  morning  she  had  felt 
entirely  safe.  It  was  such  a  relief  to  see  Max  —  it 
was  such  an  irresistible  pleasure,  too  —  that  before 
she  had  time  to  school  and  repress  the  involuntary 
joy,  her  face  grew  fairly  radiant  and  she  started  to 
her  feet,  her  book  falling  to  the  ground.  She  felt 
her  color  change  conf usingly. 

Van  Kirk  lifted  his  hat  mechanically  ;  but  her 
expression  banished  his  caution.  His  plan  of  pro- 
cedure tottered  uncertainly.  The  light  that  sprang 
in  his  eyes  sent  a  little  telegraphic  thrill  across  the 
narrow  ravine  to  her.  She  groped  vaguely  for  all 
she  had  known  so  reasonably,  so  calmly,  last  night ; 
but  the  magic  music  would  sound  louder,  louder, 
despite  her. 

He  was  coming  on  so  fast,  she  must  say  some- 
thing to  explain  her  absurd  behavior.  It  would 
be  sure  to  crush  her  to  remember  it  later  on. 

"  Oh  !  "  she  exclaimed  breathlessly,  as  he  gently 
took  her  hands,  "  do  you  know  I  —  was  afraid  you 
might  be  —  a  man  I  " 


408  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

He  did  not  smile.  He  held  her  hands  and 
looked  down  at  her  uncovered  head,  and  the  beau- 
tiful summer  stillness  grew  eloquent  about  them. 
Nearer,  louder,  to  Olive's  entranced  heart  sounded 
the  magic  music. 

"  Olive,  save  me,"  said  Van  Kirk,  low  but  with 
intense  emphasis.  "  I  am  on  the  verge  of  disobey- 
ing you.  See  what  one  glad  look  has  done,  my 
darling." 

The  girl  lifted  her  head  and  looked  up  as  a 
flower  seeks  the  sun  ;  and  the  gaze  she  gave  him 
was  as  though  she  set  him  on  a  throne. 

"  Max,  am  I  the  woman  ?  "  she  asked  at  last, 
slowly. 

"  The  light  of  my  life,"  he  answered,  and  his 
arms  inclosed  her.  They  stood  heart  to  heart,  and 
the  magic  music  —  divine  music,  the  mother  had 
well  called  it  —  surged  and  swelled  to  a  full,  tri- 
umphant chord  of  harmony. 

Plash,  pure  fountain  !  Bloom,  flowers  !  Your 
purple  color  fits  the  royal  estate  of  two  souls  to 
whom  Heaven  itself  can  give  no  more. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

HOME   AGAIN. 

BEING  on  military  ground,  perhaps  it  would  not 
be  inapt  to  liken  the  announcement  of  Olive's  and 
Maxwell's  engagement,  in  the  little  circle  most 
nearly  interested,  to  the  explosion  of  a  bombshell. 
No  bond  of  the  kind  was  ever  entered  into  with  less 
assistance,  covert  or  overt,  from  kindly  third  parties. 
If  it  was  any  satisfaction  to  the  young  couple  to 
make  a  sensation,  they  certainly  had  it  to  the  full. 

Miss  Bagg,  when  the  affair  was  announced  to 
her,  declared  that  she  should  die,  and  then  wept 
copiously. 

One  might  from  this  be  obliged  to  arrive  by  a 
rather  roundabout  road  at  her  meaning,  for  she 
meant  that  she  had  never  found  life  so  well  worth 
living,  nor  been  so  fully  determined  to  live,  as  at 
the  present  moment. 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  was  so  utterly  overwhelmed  by 
the  news  that  she  could  not  even  find  its  dark  side 
at  once.  She  was  mute  as  she  received  her  son's 
embrace  and  kiss,  and  although  she  recovered  suf- 
ficient presence  of  mind  to  weep  when  Olive  tim- 
idly approached  her,  she  had  not  yet  selected  the 
ground  upon  which  to  be  a  martyr  when  Miss 
Bagg  joyously  pressed  her  hand. 


410  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"I  can  almost  share  your  motherly  feelings," 
said  Lydia  tremulously.  "  There  is  no  one  nearer 
to  me  in  all  the  world  than  these  two  dear  chil- 
dren." 

Mrs.  Van  Kirk  was  inhaling  white  rose  in  the 
depths  of  her  handkerchief  at  the  moment,  but  she 
listened  alertly  to  this.  In  marrying  this  poor 
girl  it  was  possible  that  Max  was  doing  as  well  for 
himself  as  even  his  mother  could  ask.  Olive  was 
unquestionably  a  beauty,  and  she  had  a  very  good 
disposition,  no  doubt,  and  that  counted  for  sonic- 
thing.  Her  resolve  was  at  once  taken.  She  looked 
up  from  the  handkerchief,  and  stretching  out  her 
hand  to  Olive,  who  had  been  regarding  her  anx- 
iously, kissed  her  with  stately  fervor. 

"  The  daughter  of  my  girlhood's  friend,"  she 
said  impressively.  "  I  could  ask  nothing  better 
than  this.  You  must  forgive  me,  my  child,  if  this 
joy  has  in  it  to  me  something  of  sadness.  It  is  a 
great  and  solemn  moment  to  a  mother  when  she 
knows  that  she  must  step  down  to  a  lower  place  in 
her  son's  heart." 

Ingenious  Mrs.  Van  Kirk  !  Her  faculty  for  mar- 
tyrdom had  triumphed  after  all.  Olive  kissed  as 
much  of  her  cheek  as  was  visible  beyond  the  hand- 
kerchief, and  promised  to  try  to  be  a  good  daughter 
to  her.  The  girl's  sense  of  humor  was  entirely  in 
abeyance.  She  was  so  thrilled  with  gratitude  and 
happiness  that  it  made  her  humble,  and  she  was 
ready  to  acknowledge  the  goodness  displayed  by 
Max's  mother  in  giving  him  to  her. 


HOME  AGAIN.  411 

This  interview,  so  full  of  tears  and  caresses,  had 
taken  place  in  Mrs.  Van  Kirk's  room  at  the  hotel. 
In  the  midst  of  it  a  knock  sounded  at  the  door  and 
Bertha  Spencer  came  in. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  she  asked,  regarding 
the  moved  faces. 

"  Congratulate  Olive,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  luxuriat- 
ing in  the  situation. 

"  No,  congratulate  me,  Miss  Spencer,"  said  Van 
Kirk,  holding  out  his  hand. 

"  Why  !  "  Bertha  shook  hands  with  him  auto- 
matically. Then  she  turned  and  flung  herself  into 
Olive's  arms,  holding  her  in  a  long  embrace. 

"  What  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  sensible," 
thought  Max,  "  makes  women  cry  so  much  ? 
Olive  does  n't  cry." 

No,  Olive  had  not  shed  a  tear.  She  had  more 
color  than  usual,  and  there  was  the  hint  of  a  smile 
constantly  on  her  lips,  but  the  great  and  quiet  joy 
shining  in  her  eyes  seemed  to  shed  calmness  all 
about  her. 

Van  Kirk  had  been  mistaken  about  Bertha. 
She  was  not  crying,  although  when  she  had  ceased 
kissing  Olive  and  drew  back  to  regard  her,  her 
brown  eyes  sparkled  with  moisture.  She  had  been 
totally  surprised,  and  the  natural  pleasure  she  felt 
at  Olive's  happiness  was  tempered  by  a  slight  and 
reproachful  wonder  that  a  girl  who  had  had  the  op- 
portunity to  fall  in  love  with  Ralph  should  have 
failed  to  do  so. 

Mr.  Spencer  himself  was  a  little  pensive  when 


412  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

later  ho  offered  his  congratulations.  Miss  Carlyle 
was  so  lovely  with  some  new  beauty  that  he  began 
to  wish  he  had  had  a  little  more  time,  and  to  fear 
vaguely  that  he  had  made  the  mistake  of  his  life  in 
not  letting  the  procession  of  other  charmers  slip 
and  devoting  himself  solely  to  this  one.  However, 
that  frame  of  mind  was  a  passing  one.  He  really 
had  n't  time  to  regret  seriously,  and  was  soon  hur- 
ried along  again  on  the  tide  of  business  and  social 
requirements. 

Without  mentioning  Ida  Fuller's  visit,  Max 
told  Olive  of  his  confession  to  her  mother,  and 
asked  her  how  they  should  communicate  the  news 
to  her. 

The  girl  gave  him  a  little  radiant,  thoughtful 
smile,  and  after  a  while  she  handed  him  a  paper. 
"Please  send  this  telegram  to  mother,"  she  said. 
"  You  may  read  it." 

He  opened  the  paper  and  saw  this :  — 

It  is  a  part  of  what  is  really  mine.  Can  you 
come  ?  OLIVE. 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?  "  asked  Van  Kirk. 
"Is  it  a  cipher?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  girl.  "  Mother  talks  to 
me  at  times  in  what  some  people  might  think  was 
a  cipher." 

But  her  smile  was  there  still,  and  on  his  way  to 
the  office  Max  studied  on  the  scrap  of  paper.  It 
evidently  referred  to  some  previous  talk  between 


HOME  AGAIN.  413 

mother  and  daughter,  and  it  must  have  been  about 
him  in  order  to  have  the  reference  suggest  any- 
thing concerning  affairs  at  this  moment. 

It  gave  him  a  very  warm,  happy  sensation  to 
realize  that  the  pure  thoughts  of  the  young  girl 
had  been  concerned  with  him,  and  such  must  have 
been  the  case. 

Olive  had  confessed  very  little  to  him  yet.  The 
time  would  come  when  she  would  show  him  her 
side  of  that  evening  in  camp,  but  as  yet  she  was 
in  the  first  exquisite  attitude  of  shyness  toward 
her  happiness,  which,  though  succeeding  stages 
may  bring  a  deeper  and  more  sacred  joy,  has  a 
bloom  and  an  aroma  all  its  own,  fleeting,  volatile 
and  never  to  be  repeated  or  recalled. 

Van  Kirk  continued  to  study  on  his  pleasant 
problem,  and  was  strengthened  in  what  he  eagerly 
desired  but  was  surprised  to  believe,  —  namely, 
that  he  had  been  in  Olive's  mind  perhaps  as  long 
as  she  had  been  in  his,  and  certainly  more  con- 
sciously and  avowedly,  since  something  she  had 
said  to  her  mother  made  this  telegram  sufficient. 

He  had  just  written  the  address  and  handed  the 
slip  of  paper  to  the  operator  when  his  conclusion 
was  arrived  at,  and  at  that  moment  Lieutenant  Gary 
strolled  into  the  office.  Suddenly  some  link  snap- 
ping into  place  formed  a  connection  J>etween  Van 
Kirk's  thoughts  and  the  new-comer.  That  absurd 
theory  of  the  lieutenant's  presented  itself  to  mind. 

"  Confound  him,"  thought  Max,  smiling  and 
frowning  at  the  same  time  ;  but  he  came  forward. 


414  MISS  BAG&S  SECRETARY. 

Gary   was   going   to    nod   and   pass   him   with  a 
friendly  word ;  but  Van  Kirk  buttonholed  him. 

"Come  out  here  a  minute,"  he  said,  drawing 
him  out-of-doors.  "I  don't  want  you  to  hear  it 
from  anybody  else." 

"What?" 

"  I  'm  engaged." 

Gary  looked  at  him.  *'  Well,  you  '11  excuse  me  if 
before  I  congratulate  you,  I  remark  on  the  neat- 
ness and  dispatch  with  which  you  accomplish  these 
things." 

"  Of  course  I  do  not  wonder  at  your  surprise," 
returned  the  other,  with  dignity. 

"  I  should  n't  think  you  would.  If  you  are  n't 
the  victim  of  mania  and  ought  not  to  be  shut  up 
somewhere,  perhaps  you  will  kindly  explain  why 
you  told  me  the  other  day  that  you  were  not  in 
love  with  anybody." 

Max's  face  lighted  up.  "Precisely,  my  dear 
boy ;  that  is  just  the  odd  part  of  it." 

"That's  what  I  think,"  —  dryly. 

"  Now  don't  interrupt  me.  It  is  due  you  that  I 
should  explain  that  I  was  in  love,  but  I  actually 
did  n't  realize  it  at  that  time." 

The  lieutenant  looked  at  him  curiously,  and  an 
exasperating  smile  began  to  curve  his  mustache. 
"'M  h'm,"  he  replied,  with  the  familiar  assenting 
sound  so  elusive  of  print.  "  Now,  will  you  kindly 
dismount  from  your  lofty  position  aiid  agree  that 
there  was  some  occult  power  at  work  all  that  time 
you  were  laughing  me  to  scorn,  and  that  this 
young  lady  had  selected  you  ?  " 


HOME  AGAIN.  415 

Van  Kirk  did  n't  want  to  laugh,  yet  he  could  n't 
refrain. 

"  I  don't  know  much,  Gary,  but  it  is  a  great  priv- 
ilege to  be  acquainted  with  a  man  who  is  really 
wise.  I  am  so  happy  that  I  not  only  love  every- 
body but  all  theories.  You  can  prove  anything  by 
me.  So  long  as  Miss  CarJyle  "  — 

"  It  is  n't  Miss  Carlyle  !  "  The  interruption  was 
eager  and  amazed. 

"  Why,  of  course  it  is,"  returned  Max,  with  a 
slightly  unreasonable  impatience  of  his  friend's 
supposing  that  it  could  be  anybody  else. 

"  Then  I  do  congratulate  you,  for  a  fact,"  said 
the  officer,  shaking  Van  Kirk's  hand  heartily. 
"  She  is  —  why,  I  could  fill  a  volume  with  compli- 
ments for  Miss  Carlyle,  but  I  suspect  nothing  that 
I  could  say  would  surprise  you.  Just  to  augment 
your  opinion  of  my  wisdom,  I  will  inform  you  that 
you  could  n't  use  too  much  dispatch  in  this  case." 

But  life  for  civilians  cannot  go  on  forever  to 
martial  music.  The  day  came  when  our  party  was 
obliged  (one  member  of  it  most  reluctantly)  to  go 
back  to  the  commonplace,  noisy  world,  where  one 
man  is  as  good  as  another,  and  where  parasols  have 
no  affinity  for  swords. 

It  was  one  day  in  the  following  September  that 
Miss  Bagg,  having  made  an  appointment  with  her 
lawyer,  entered  his  office.  All  her  fear  of  this 
gentleman  had  vanished,  and  they  were  now  on 
excellent  terms. 

"  I  have  come,"  said  Miss  Bagg,  seating  herself, 


416  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

"  to  talk  with  you  of  a  plan  I  have  regarding  the 
connections  of  my  family.  They  have  all  called  on 
me  at  different  times  since  I  came  to  New  York, 
and  I  have  their  names  down  here."  Lydia  pro- 
duced a  large  sheet  of  paper  well  written  over. 
"  I  was  very  much  surprised  to  know  that  I  had 
such  a  number  of  relatives  ;  and  although  the  con- 
nection is  slight,  some  of  them  are  poor  people, 
and  no  wonder,  if  Uncle  Jotham  was  acquainted 
with  them,  that  they  were  disappointed  to  think  he 
did  n't  leave  them  any  money.  I  have  been  over 
this  list  very  carefully  with  Mrs.  Carlyle,  and  she 
has  helped  me  to  facts  about  the  different  families. 
Now  I  put  it  to  you,  Mr.  Galbraith,"  added  Lydia 
earnestly,  "  what  is  the  use  of  waiting  until  I  die 
to  make  some  of  these  people  comfortable  ?  " 

The  lawyer  smiled.  "  You  prefer  to  see  people 
enjoying  themselves  instead  of  knowing  theoreti- 
cally that  they  will  do  so  when  you  have  left  this 
scene  and  cannot  enjoy  with  them." 

"Yes,  that  is  the  idea,"  assented  Miss  Bagg 
with  satisfaction.  "  What  is  the  sense  of  waiting  ? 
A  great  lot  of  money  has  become  rolled  up  into 
one  fortune.  By  Uncle  Jotham's  dying  without  a 
will,  it  has  all  come  to  another  single  person.  It  is 
so  large  a  fortune  as  to  attract  attention.  Why, 
you  would  be  surprised,  Mr.  Galbraith,  to  see 
some  of  the  letters  I  receive  from  men  who  ought 
to  be  in  asylums,  wishing  to  marry  me.  They  say 
they  saw  me  leaving  my  carriage  and  admired  me, 
or  else  give  some  other  silly  excuse  for  addressing 


HOME  AGAIN.  417 

me.  Mr.  Van  Kirk  opens  all  my  letters  now  ex- 
cept those  with  certain  postmarks,  and  he  does  n't 
show  them  to  me  at  all  unless  they  are  particularly 
funny.  One  the  other  day  contained  a  sonnet  to 
my  curls." 

Lydia  laughed  so  heartily  that  the  lawyer  joined 
her. 

"  "Well,"  she  continued,  "  I  thought  if  things 
had  gone  so  far  that  poems  were  written  about  my 
gray  hair,  I  had  better  get  rid  of  some  of  my  dan- 
gerous attractiveness.  Seriously,  some  of  these 
people  on  my  list  are  patiently  battling  with  life 
and  have  large  families,  and  I  want  to  help  them. 
Please  look  it  over." 

Miss  Bagg  handed  her  paper  to  the  lawyer,  who 
put  on  his  eyeglasses,  leaned  back  in  his  chair,  and 
studied  it.  Appended  to  the  name  of,  each  person 
was  the  amount  Lydia  wished  to  bestow  upon  him. 

Mr.  Galbraith  footed  up  the  various  sums ;  then 
he  looked  over  his  glasses  at  his  client. 

"  Do  you  know  you  have  disposed  of  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  here  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  it  just  came  out  an  even  fifty,"  replied 
Lydia  cheerfully,  as  though  the  fact  was  one  upon 
which  she  was  to  be  congratulated. 

"  It  is  a  great  deal  of  money." 

"  Yes ;  but  there  are  a  good  many  people,  you 
see." 

"  Those  to  whom  you  give  the  lesser  amounts 
will  grumble  because  the  others  have  more.  It 
will  all  get  out  among  themselves." 


418  MISS  BAGG'S  SECEETAET. 

"  Never  mind.  I  have  graduated  it  with  Mrs. 
Carlyle's  help  according  to  their  needs.  It  will 
lift  a  burden  in  many  cases." 

"  There  is  one  name  here  with  nothing  opposite ; 
that  of  Mr.  J.  Wilkins." 

"  Yes.  Mrs.  Carlyle  said  she  thought  you  knew 
about  his  affairs.  Ought  I  to  do  anything  about 
him?" 

Mr.  Galbraith  noticed  the  severe  change  in  his 
client's  manner  and  wondered  at  it.  "  He  left  the 
city  considerably  in  debt,"  he  replied.  "  He  is  on 
the  other  side  of  the  water  now." 

"  Would  he  come  back  if  his  debts  were  paid  ?  '" 

"  I  think  it  probable  he  would." 

"  Scratch  his  name  off  the  list,"  said  Lydia  de- 
cidedly. 

Mr.  Galbraith  drew  his  pencil  through  the  name 
and  wondered  more  than  ever.  "  I  feel  rather 
sorry  for  Wilkins.  He  is  paying  dear  for  his  over- 
confidence,"  he  remarked  quietly. 

Miss  Bagg  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
lawyer  referred  to  Wilkins's  confidence  in  his  treat- 
ment of  herself. 

"  Don't  you  think  he  ought  to  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  We  are  all  liable  to  mistakes.  Mr.  Wilkins 
is  not  perhaps  an  admirable  figure,  but  he  is  grow- 
ing elderly,  and  his  situation  is  anything  but  pleas- 
ant." 

"I  will  pay  his  debts,  if  you  advise  it,"  said 
Miss  Bagg  shortly. 

They  had  some  further  conference  on  the  subject, 


HOME  AGAIN.  419 

and  the  outcome  of  the  talk  was  that  Mr.  Wilkins's 
liabilities  should  be  met,  but  that  he  should  be 
warned  that  never  under  any  circumstances  would 
Miss  Bagg  consent  to  meet  him. 

This  subject  disposed  of,  Mr.  Galbraith  re- 
marked with  a  smile  :  — 

"  I  do  not  see  your  friend  Mrs.  Carlyle's  name 
here.  I  believe  her  circumstances  are  very  lim- 
ited." 

Miss  Bagg  smiled  back  at  him  with  a  curious 
expression. 

"  My  plans  for  Mrs.  Carlyle  are  on  a  different 
scale  from  these  gifts,"  she  replied.  "  I  do  not 
know  whether  you  have  heard  that  Mr.  Van  Kirk 
is  engaged  to  Mrs.  Carlyle's  daughter  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  have  heard  of  it.  It  is  not  a  brilliant 
match." 

"  Have  you  ever  seen  Miss  Carlyle  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure  whether  I  have  or  not." 

"  Then  you  have  n't,"  returned  Lydia  shortly. 
"  Mr.  Galbraith,  it  is  very  strange  to  me  how 
people  calculate  everything  from  a  money  basis. 
What  is  a  brilliant  match,  if  it  is  n't  marrying  an 
unusually  beautiful  and  good  girl  ?  " 

"  I  know  it,  I  know  it,"  admitted  the  lawyer, 
nodding  his  head  several  times. 

"  They  could  live  in  some  cozy  little  way  on 
their  six  thousand  dollars  a  year  and  be  as  happy 
as  birds,"  continued  Lydia,  "  and  yet  plenty  of 
Mr.  Van  Kirk's  acquaintances  right  here  in  this 
New  York  babel  would  pity  them  if  they  did." 


420  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

Mr.  Galbraith  nodded  assent. 

"  But  I  am  not  going  to  give  anybody  an  op- 
portunity to  pity  those  young  people,  no  matter 
from  what  foolish  standpoint,"  she  went  on.  "  I 
am  a  rich  woman  ?  " 

"  A  very  rich  woman,"  assented  the  lawyer,  with 
a  smile. 

"  I  can  afford  to  indulge  myself  in  a  little 
amusement.  Very  well,  Olive  and  Mr.  Van  Kirk 
—  Max,  he  says  I  must  call  him  —  are  my  amuse- 
ment. He  is  the  most  obstinate  individual  that 
ever  was  born.  I  tried  my  best  to  get  him  to  take 
Uncle  Jotham's  money  "  — 

"  Indeed !  "  ejaculated  the  lawyer,  with  interest 
and  surprise. 

"  Why,  of  course  I  did  as  soon  as  I  knew  he 
ought  to  have  had  it." 

"Well,  Miss  Bagg,  you  are  an  extraordinary 
woman." 

"  I  ?  "  said  Lydia  in  surprise.  "  I  am  the  most 
commonplace  woman  in  the  world.  Well,  he 
would  n't.  Now  it  is  left  me  to  make  Miss  Carlyle 
a  wedding  present.  I  told  Mr.  Van  Kirk  so,  and 
he  said  I  must  look  out  and  not  give  Olive  so 
much  as  to  turn  him  into  a  fortune-hunter.  We 
have  arranged  that  after  the  young  people  are 
married  Mrs.  Carlyle  is  to  live  with  me.  I  am 
going  to  settle  some  money  both  on  her  and  Mrs. 
Van  Kirk  on  the  wedding-day." 

"  How  about  Mrs.  Fuller  ?  " 

Miss  Bagg  smiled.     "She  is  not  Mrs.  Fuller 


HOME  AGAIN.  421 

any  longer.  She  has  married  a  great  deal  larger 
fortune  than  I  should  feel  inclined  to  give  her." 

"  Well,  I  am  glad  you  have  reached  the  end  of 
the  list.  When  you  come  down  to  figures  and  tell 
me  the  precise  division  you  intend  to  make  with 
these  pet  friends  of  yours,  it  will  be  time  for  me  to 
see  that  you  leave  yourself  something." 

Miss  Bagg  laughed,  and  then  grew  serious. 
"  No,  I  do  not  mean  to  do  anything  foolish,"  she 
said.  "  I  feel  that  it  is  not  a  light  thing  to  have 
the  care  of  such  a  power  for  good  or  evil  as  money 
is.  I  consider  myself  more  than  fortunate  to  have 
two  advisers  like  yourself  and  Mrs.  Carlyle.  I  will 
have  another  talk  with  you  soon  regarding  the 
larger  amounts  I  want  to  give.  You  will  see  to 
this  other  matter  ?  "  She  indicated  a  little  heap 
of  checks  which  she  had  signed. 

"  It  will  be  a  very  pleasant  duty,"  replied  Mr. 
Galbraith  as  he  bowed  her  out. 

Once  more  there  was  a  party  in  Jotham  Bagg's 
old  drawing-room.  It  was  Christmas  eve,  and  the 
occasion  was  Olive's  wedding.  She  and  her  mother 
had  been  for  some  weeks  domesticated  in  Miss 
Bagg's  home.  So  much  space  has  been  given  to 
describing  fair  brides  that  it  seems  like  redun- 
dancy to  say  when  this  one  turned  around,  her 
veil  thrown  back,  to  face  her  friends  after  the 
ceremony,  that  Olive  Van  Kirk  was  more  beautiful 
than  Miss  Carlyle  had  ever  been.  Miss  Bagg 
made  up  her  mind  that,  notwithstanding  any 


422  MISS  BAGG'S  SECRETARY. 

ftmount  of  protest  and  chaff  from  Max,  she  would 
have  a  picture  of  them  both  as  they  looked  now 
together.  It  was  her  devout  belief  that  no  couple 
like  them  had  ever  been  seen  outside  the  covers 
of  a  good  old  fairy  tale,  where  the  prince  and  prin- 
cess are  nothing  if  not  superlative. 

The  wedding  had  been  a  very  quiet  one.  The 
company  were  not  all  those  whom  Uncle  Jotham 
used  to  gather  together,  but  beside  some  relatives 
there  was  Miss  Spencer  who,  looking  very  pretty, 
had  stood  near  the  bride  and  held  her  bouquet, 
while  Max  put  the  ring  on  Olive's  finger,  after- 
ward kissing  the  emblem  in  a  reverent  fashion. 

Mr.  Hemenway  and  Ralph  Spencer  were  present, 
enjoying  the  pomp  and  state  of  their  citizens'  dress- 
suits  as  only  habitual  wearers  of  brass  buttons  can. 
Lieutenant  Gary  and  Miss  Bruce  were  there  also. 
Mrs.  Carlyle,  in  rich  gray  satin  and  lace,  stood 
looking  at  the  bride  and  groom,  her  eyes  beam- 
ing with  the  same  love  and  tenderness  behind 
the  gold -bowed  glasses  that  had  formerly  shone 
through  the  humble  steel  spectacles. 

But  Mrs.  Van  Kirk.     Who  shall  describe  how 
she  posed  and  rustled  ?     One  thing  is  certain,  — 
she  was  as  happy  as  it  was  possible  for  her  to  be 
under  circumstances  in  which,  try  as  she  might, 
she  searched  in  vain  for  a  flaw. 

Whether  Miss  Bagg  had  any  ulterior  object  is 
not  known,  but  in  the  profusion  of  lilies,  and  roses 
of  all  depths  of  color  that  bloomed  from  every  pos- 
sible spot  in  the  large  rooms,  the  odor  of  white  rose 
was  lost. 


HOME  AGAIN.  423 

How  happy  Miss  Bagg  was  as  she  flew  about 
among  her  guests,  her  curls  a-flutter  with  excite- 
ment !  Nora  stood  outside  a  half-open  door,  where 
she  could  see  and  not  be  seen,  and  wipe  her  eyes 
to  her  heart's  content. 

"  'T  is  a  shame  the  poor  Joodge  can't  see  her," 
she  muttered,  gazing  at  the  white-robed  bride. 
"  She  looks  like  one  o'  the  saints,  and  Mr.  Van 
Kirruk  he  do  look  a  match  for  her." 

At  a  long  table,  glowing  with  soft  and  rosy 
lights,  the  guests  after  a  time  sat  down  to  supper, 
and  the  ease  and  gayety  of  the  company  took  its 
tone  from  the  simple,  loving  good-will  of  the  beam- 
ing hostess. 

Mr.  Galbraith  was  one  of  the  circle,  and  as  he 
made  mental  notes  of  the  occasion,  he  thought  of 
his  old  client  and  wondered  if  Jotham  Bagg  would 
not  be  content  could  he  look  now  into  his  once 
grim  dining-room  and  see  it  thus  transformed  with 
the  flowers,  the  bright  faces,  and  the  happy  sphere 
that  filled  it.  Surely  so,  since  the  happiest  face 
there  was  that  of  his  boy  Max,  his  pride  and  his 
one  joy. 

When  finally  farewells  were  being  said,  and 
Olive  and  Max  were  about  starting  for  an  expedi- 
tion to  the  blossoming  south,  Lydia  kissed  the 
bride  very  tenderly  and  then  took  Van  Kirk's 
hand  in  both  her  own  where  they  stood,  a  little 
apart. 

"  God  bless  you,"  she  said  solemnly,  looking 
up  at  him.  After  a  moment  she  continued :  "  I 


424  MISS  BAGG'S  SECEETAKY. 

have  not  done  anything  for  you  to-day,  —  not  given 
you,  personally,  any  gift  adequate  to  show  you  or 
others  what  I  feel  for  you  —  you  would  not  let 
me ;  but  it  is  all  in  iny  heart.  I  wish  there  were 
something  more  I  could  do." 

"  I  know  that,"  returned  Max,  and  he  stooped 
and  kissed  her.  "  I  feel  a  gratitude  to  you  that 
I  can  never  express,  but  I  hope  you  will  believe 
that  it  exists."  He  smiled  into  her  eyes  and 
pressed  her  hands  warmly.  "  I  ask  no  better  lot 
than  to  serve  you.  Continue  to  give  me  that  priv- 
ilege and  it  will  be  enough.  Let  me  be  all  my 
life  what  I  am  now, —  Miss  Bagg's  secretary." 


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